An Uzumaki Scorned
by SilentSambo88
Summary: Inspired by The Gallant Toad Sage's "Betrayal". Ten years after the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto's dream to become Hokage has become a bitter search for truth and understanding. On the night he finally achieves his dream, he uncovers a devastating series of betrayals from the Sandaime that drive him into the past to seek justice and fix the future. Semi-AU. Jaded!Naruto
1. Chapter 1: Prelude to Scorn

**A/N: How many of you remember the abandoned fic "Betrayal" by The Gallant Toad Sage? While it had numerous flaws, it was still one of the more popular time travel fanfictions on this site, and it's a damn shame that the author has left us. Perhaps I shouldn't have tried a rewrite for my first upload to this site, but I can't really control my muse, now can I?**

**In an attempt to curb the ridiculous fanon tropes which overran and ruined the original, and keep them down to a necessary minimum, I've also had to take inspiration from my favorite time travel fanfiction, "Twelve Shattered Mirrors" by Solvdrage, in this rewrite. My thanks go to him for granting permission to borrow a major plot point from his work as well as his assistance in putting the plot for this ficlet together. I'm also thanking Hektols and Leaf Ranger for their assistance in the latter.**

**Warning: since this is a heavy rewrite, I'm going to let you guys know right now that it's not going to conform to the Time Travel Challenge, meaning Naruto will NOT destroy Konoha. That is also one of the things which I felt ruined the original story, the biggest in fact, since what reason did Naruto have to punish the many for the crimes of the few? Eliminate what didn't happen in canon, a.k.a. everyone assuming Naruto's childhood was shittier than it actually was, and you eliminate the reason for Naruto to go completely dark instead of adopting shades of gray. That doesn't mean that those who are guilty will go unpunished; it only means there won't be mass killing of civilians. Something will be destroyed in Hi no Kuni, just not Konoha, not if Naruto can avoid it.**

**Anyway, enjoy if that's what you fancy. I apologize in advance for any glaring errors, since I felt pressured into posting at least one story before the manga ends this year.**

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Disclaimer: Naruto is an ongoing Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto with an Animé adaptation. The Manga is published by Shueisha in Japan, and Viz Media in the United States, Canada, and UK, and it is serialized by Shonen Jump. The TV Animé is directed by Hayato Date, and licensed by Aniplex in Japan, Viz Media in the United States, and Manga Entertainment in the UK. I also do not own any of the profile pictures I used in my fan fictions.

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_Chapter 1_

_Prelude to Scorn_

_Konoha, Hokage Tower – January 21, 1011 A.C. (After Chakra) – 1847 hours_

A very tired Uzumaki Naruto leaned back in his chair, gazing over the twelve armored bodies that littered the floor of the Hokage's office. It hadn't even been one full day since he was sworn in, and already someone had tried to remove him from power in the most violent way possible. Assassination attempts were expected by any S-rank ninja, but was it in the job description for a Hokage to have to deal with one on his first day on the job? He couldn't imagine any of his predecessors having to deal with a mess like this so soon.

His breathing was only slightly labored, despite the fact he'd just come out of the fight of his life. His groans were not induced by pain, at least not physical pain. The headache he had from his brain trying to process what he learned tonight wasn't enough to elicit a groan. He experienced far worse mental strain each day from his training, and had become accustomed to such stress. This was nothing in comparison.

His outfit had seen better days. He had opted to forgo the traditional Hokage robes, instead sticking to the black uniform-style jacket, teal and light blue striped scarf and orange pants he wore since returning from Kumo two years ago, only adding a black haori with orange trimming, red flame patterns encompassing the bottom and the kanji for Nanadaime on the back over it. Said haori had been turned into little more than overpriced rags by a high-level Fūton ninjutsu used by one of the dead assassins littering the floor. He'd also decided to cut his hair short, much to the disappointment of many of the fangirls he'd had to fend off, and right now his blond hair was soaked in the blood of his would-be assassins.

He was fatigued, but the fatigue in his eyes could not be attributed to physical exhaustion. His eyes were those of a man who had watched his own dream die, along with any chance he ever had to find true happiness in life.

Technically, they had belonged to three others who also suffered a deep spiritual trauma, but the haunted look unique to Naruto was unmistakable. Ten years of endless nightmares with no one to help ease the pain would make anyone weary of life, and even Naruto, a man many thought to be unbreakable, had been worn down. All who took the time to really see him were shocked and disturbed by the look in his eyes, when they knew it should have been expected, considering his troubled past. But it was because they knew him, that they were shocked to see the toll taken on his soul.

When Naruto had announced to the remaining members of the Konoha 12, a group which was reduced to six in the Fourth Shinobi World War, that he no longer sought the title of Hokage, the reactions of his friends ranged from disbelief to despair to outrage. But it was the answer he gave them for giving up his dream that was the most unsettling. It wasn't because he hadn't been able to save Sasuke, that he now felt himself unfit to pursue his childhood dream any longer. Rather, it was because of one specific person Sasuke had killed in the war.

After Naruto and Sasuke finally managed to seal Kaguya and save the world, they still had to free everyone from the Mugen Tsukuyomi cast by Madara. But before he was willing to end the endless dream, Sasuke's true agenda showed through in a flash of psychosis. Sasuke, the last Uchiha, had intended to rule the world by eliminating the bijū, the Gokage, and anyone and anything else who could stand against him—including Naruto. Asura's reincarnation had had no choice but to end the Indra line once and for all. But in death, Indra's reincarnation still managed to achieve part of his objective. In his last moments, Sasuke sent a poisonous chakra pulse through the roots of the Shinju to seek out and destroy his targets before they could wake up. If the Uchiha could not achieve his ambition, in one final act of hatred, he would ensure the _dobe_ would never be able to fulfill his dreams.

Senju Tsunade, Sabaku no Gaara, Terumī Mei, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki, and Ē all perished, helpless against the Chakura Kusari no Jutsu unleashed by the last Uchiha in his last moments. With the simultaneous death of the Gokage, coupled with the casualties sustained by the Allied Shinobi Forces, a massive power void had been created, and peace would elude the survivors for years until the struggle was resolved.

But Sasuke's hatred didn't stop there. It couldn't. It wouldn't be satisfied until Naruto felt the closest thing possible to the loss he suffered on the night of the Uchiha Massacre and was completely destroyed inside, and so he used his last technique to also target as many of Naruto's friends as possible. The result had been thoroughly devastating, both to Naruto and to Konoha. In Konoha, the corruptive chakra sought out and destroyed Ichiraku Teuchi and Ayame, Sarutobi Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Hyūga Hanabi, among many others. On the battlefield, the technique was even more destructive, and each victim it claimed had been very important to Naruto. On that day, he also lost Umino Iruka, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chōji and Nara Shikamaru, along with someone he couldn't even speak of anymore, because of how badly her death traumatized him.

On that day, the only person who had ever unconditionally loved him, Hyūga Hinata, was murdered by the man Uzumaki Naruto once considered his best friend and brother. And with her death, both of Naruto's dreams and his infinite capacity for forgiveness died as well.

Naruto's eyes began to water, and he noticed a few teardrops starting to mix with the blood which soaked the bandages wrapped around his right arm. He couldn't help grimacing as he gazed upon his arm, which was badly scarred from catching Sasuke's Chidori and was still infected with the Chakura Kusari no Jutsu when his attempt to save Hinata backfired. Kurama's advanced healing powers and the Rikudō chakra he gained towards the end of the war had only been able to stop the infection from spreading to the rest of his body. Despite the threat that arm posed to his life, he chose not to have it amputated, as it served as a constant reminder of his greatest failure—the failure to protect the woman he loved.

The thought of Hinata, and the regret he was burdened with by never having the chance to return her love, was the only thing left in this life that could drive him to tears.

Everything was supposed to be smooth sailing after the world recovered and the survivors moved on from their loss. Naruto was supposed to be able to make all of Hinata's dreams come true by choosing her and eventually marrying her and giving her the family she—no, _they_—had always wanted. He was supposed to have her by his side always, and be by her side always, no matter what. But one act of malice had taken it all away from him. Watching her wither away, unable to do a damned thing to save her even with the Rikudō no Yō no Chikara, had been the same thing as watching every dream he'd ever had die.

But if Naruto no longer wanted the title of Hokage, why was he now sitting behind the desk in the Hokage Tower?

The answer to that question was revealed two years ago. One month after the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Daimyōs of the Elemental Nations had almost completely taken over. Sunagakure no longer had a Kazekage, as the Wind Daimyō conspired with the Suna Council to eliminate the position outright, since no Suna ninja was strong enough to assume the title. Suna had eventually been liquidated, and many of its formerly loyal ninja sought refuge in Konoha. In Iwagakure and Kirigakure, it became quickly obvious that the new Kages were mere puppets. Konohagakure and Kumogakure still had ninjas who were strong enough both physically and mentally not to succumb to the whims of their civilian overlords, but the losses sustained by the Alliance made revolt against their Daimyōs nearly impossible, even with Naruto and Kirābī on their side. Worse, the Daimyōs' personal guards had been equipped with highly advanced chakra-powered armor and weaponry rumored to have been developed in secret by Shimura Danzō's ROOT program using prototypes acquired from Yuki no Kuni; and rumor also had it those guards were trained by ROOT specifically to kill jinchūriki. Back then, the armor and weapons had only been prototypes, and even if they were more advanced, it would have taken dozens of sacrifices to ensure the target was eliminated, but involving the jinchūriki or the seven bijū who lacked a new host in a new war would have been a fatal mistake on the Alliance's end.

Hatake Kakashi, the Rokudaime Hokage, ordered a Naruto who was still greatly weakened from the ordeals of the Fourth Shinobi World War and wasn't healing correctly to join Kirābī in seclusion at the Waterfall of Truth on an indefinite training trip. Kakashi had been all business that day, threatening to banish Naruto to the Kamui dimension indefinitely if he refused—and since Kakashi had somehow managed to reawaken Uchiha Obito's parting gift of the Mangekyō Sharingan, he was the one person still living who could make good on that threat, at least at that point in time.

Perhaps if Kakashi had known then what he knew now, he would not have been so adamant about keeping Naruto out of battle.

Kakashi and Naruto looked over the office they trashed, Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes locked on the mangled and broken corpses of a dozen ROOT assassins sent after the newly inaugurated Nanadaime. This attempt on their lives achieved two things. First, it confirmed the rumors about the Daimyōs being backed by ROOT, since the assassins bore a more advanced version of the chakra armor supplied to the Daimyōs' personal guards. And second, it gave them irrefutable proof of the conspiracy hinted at by the current Fire Daimyō, who came into power two years ago after his predecessor met his end. The new Daimyō had urged Naruto to pursue the title of Hokage once more, but not to honor the memories of those who would have wanted him to pursue his old dream no matter what, although that was a major argument to convince the future Hokage. The new Daimyō had said that if Naruto were to become Hokage, he would be able to find a much-needed sense of closure. There were secrets he claimed Naruto needed to discover, secrets which would only reveal themselves if the Hero of Konoha rose above his anguish and answered his calling.

Not even five minutes after the sun set on his first day in office, those secrets were finally coming to light.

Using the _Human Path_ abilities of the Rinnegan, Naruto had literally ripped the souls out of eight of the twelve assailants. One of them had just so happened to have a sealed memory of a conversation between himself and Danzō which referred to the conspiracy the new Fire Daimyō had hinted at. This one had obviously taken the reigns after Danzō's death, and had been trusted implicitly by the deceased traitorous elder if the memory was only _sealed_ and not _erased._

Naruto was already livid from unlocking said memory with Kurama's help, and yet he knew his anger would only continue to rise as the night progressed.

"Naruto-sama, before we discuss what just transpired here, how the hell do you have the Rinnegan?" Kakashi asked. Naruto rolled his eyes at his former teacher's use of the -sama honorific, but he was currently in Hokage Mode. Everyone in his inner circle of friends had to show the proper respect when he was serious.

"Remember when Sakura-nēchan went AWOL shortly after you sent me away, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto replied, and Kakashi nodded. "She performed the transplant on me in secret. She wanted me to find a way to bring _her_ back. She thought that with both the Rinnegan that was taken from Madara and the Rikudō Sage Mode, nothing would be impossible for me to accomplish."

"I guess you finally learned that some things are impossible after all," Kakashi observed. The search for a resurrection technique that didn't require Naruto to sacrifice anyone's life in exchange had been almost totally fruitless. As soon as he learned that using Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu was guaranteed to kill him even if he only revived a single person, despite his Uzumaki lineage and Rikudō abilities, his morale plummeted farther than it ever had in his life, and his resolve almost completely broke. But Haruno Sakura had made him promise to find a way, not for her, but for himself. Sakura had eventually managed to move on after she accepted it had been necessary to kill Sasuke.

Not once did Sakura accept that there would ever be someone else who could love Naruto and heal his heart, if he could not bring Hinata back to his world.

Unlike the last promise of a lifetime she'd exacted from Naruto, this time Sakura knew full well what she had asked of him. She knew she was sending Naruto down another spiral of despair, but it was something she couldn't help. Truly, she knew she was a horrible friend, unworthy of being within a hundred meters of Naruto's presence.

But Naruto had responded to this request almost the same way he'd responded to the first. His naïveté was gone, he too knew what it would mean if this promise was also broken, but he didn't care. Somehow, Sakura had known that Hinata was his only true love. If he couldn't find a way to revive her, he would never be able to find true happiness.

Resurrection proved to be one of the few areas of kinjutsu that was truly taboo. No matter what technique was used, it required a living sacrifice to pull a dead soul back into the world. Naruto would not pay that price, ever.

But that didn't mean it was totally hopeless. His mind flashed back to that fateful night at the climax of the war, specifically to when Hagoromo had appeared inside his mindscape a few minutes after Kurama's extraction. The Rikudō Sennin had traveled through time to appear at the critical moment.

Wait...

Why was he remembering that now, of all times? It seemed totally random, and yet...

Naruto's eyes widened at the realization which flashed through his mind. He knew _exactly_ what he was going to do now, his nindō be damned.

"Ya know, Kakashi-sensei, this has to be the worst joke of all time," Naruto remarked, his attitude momentarily shifting to resemble the mask of happiness he used to wear.

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What was his cute little Genin turned Hokage planning now?

"I was going about this kinjutsu business the wrong way. As we learned the hard way, the cost of bringing someone who died back to life is way too high. But no one ever said anything about the cost of going back and preventing someone from dying in the first place."

"Time travel, Naruto? Really?"

"It's our only option, Sensei. If we have to make it to where entire years never happened, well, I'd definitely say that's for the best, after what I just learned and am about to learn tonight."

"I see." He didn't, actually, but he knew he would soon enough. Naruto's eyes were darting around the room, trying to scan for something, unfortunately to no avail.

"Kakashi-sensei...was there any chance at all that any materials from the old Hokage Tower were used in the reconstruction?" With that question, Naruto was back in Hokage Mode.

"None at all, Naruto-sama. No recycling of building material was involved; everything used was one hundred percent new material."

"Fuck!" Naruto slammed his hands down hard enough to break his desk into three pieces. "That means we're not gonna find the proof we need here."

"And don't bother ordering a raid of the Foundation, either," a new voice chimed in. It belonged to a pale-skinned young man whose jet black uniform exposed his midriff. Naruto rolled his eyes at the arrival.

"You're late, Sai," the Nanadaime growled.

"And you're still dickless, Hokage-sama," Sai quipped. "As I was saying, it's pointless to order a raid of the old Foundation buildings to search for the truth you now seek. When Danzō died, his loyal ROOT ninja cleaned house and fled. We've been unable to find even a trace of them ever since, and truthfully, they were forgotten about in the wake of the Daimyō fiasco."

"Which idiot had the bright idea to just forget about over a hundred rogue ninja?" Naruto was livid. If he had inherited his mother's hair, Sai and Kakashi would have been able to see it raising the same way Kushina's did whenever she got royally pissed off. "Blah, forget it, it's not like we're going to be able to deal with that problem right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Gather the following people to my office within one hour," Naruto said, handing Sai a list of names. "Standard procedure for an S-rank secret meeting. Let no one know why they've been summoned."

"Calling a war council, Naruto-sama?" Kakashi pondered.

"It has been a long time coming, Sensei. Our enemies need to be reminded that hell hath no fury like an Uzumaki scorned."


	2. Chapter 2: Betrayal Revealed

**A/N: I'm flattered by the initial reception. Having only six non-guest reviews is disappointing, but I didn't think as many people would take a liking to it as they did. However, before I posted it, my best friend (who doesn't use this site) told me she thought there were major flaws regarding Naruto, and, going back over that chapter...I agree with her. Maybe it's fine to not go as in-depth with his thoughts as she wanted, but one mistake none can deny is my failure to include a physical description of his future self. That has since been rectified, though I'm pretty much winging it by keeping it mostly identical to the outfit he adopts in The Last.**

**Anyway, review more, please? I can't maintain quality and inspiration if my readers don't voice their thoughts, including constructive criticisms. Also, do NOT expect ****me to maintain a consistent ****average ****chapter length as I continue this story.**

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_Chapter 2_

_Betrayal Revealed_

_Kusagakure – Hōzukijō __– January 21, 1011 A.C.__ – 1920 hours_

Having confirmed that Konoha did not hold the secrets he sought, Naruto had turned to the one source he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would have his answers.

Almost immediately after arriving at Hōzukijō via a Hiraishin seal planted at the front gates, his body tensed up involuntarily. Memories of a major incident after the Gokage Summit haunted him. Naruto had once been framed for the murders of several Jōnin from Kumo, Iwa and Kiri and an assassination attempt against the Yondaime Raikage, and was sent here. The former master of Hōzukijō, Mui, had questioned Naruto's devotion to Konoha during the future Hokage's wrongful imprisonment. Now, more than ten years later, Naruto himself wondered just how he had been so naïve as to remain unquestionably loyal to his home village. Even though his false imprisonment had been revealed to be the only way to ensure the successful completion of an important mission, a betrayal of this magnitude should have destroyed his loyalty.

After reviewing the memories of the ROOT assassins, the Nanadaime strongly suspected the Sandaime might have had a major hand in conditioning him to be absolutely loyal to Konoha. And that was why he was here. He needed to know for sure just whose side the Sandaime was really on.

_Old man, just how much were you hiding from me?_ he wondered. He already knew the answer to that question would devastate him.

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"Naruto-kun, this is a pleasant surprise," the reason for Naruto's visit to Hōzukijō, one Yakushi Kabuto, spoke up, hiding most of his scaly body under the same scarlet robes he wore back in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Naruto never quite got over the disgust he felt each time he was forced to look at the infamous traitor who fused himself with the White Snake Sage, sacrificing his own humanity in the process.

This was not the first time Naruto had visited Kabuto inside the Blood Prison, the alternate name Hōzukijō was called. Kabuto had proven to be an extremely valuable source of information, and there were several occasions during his stay in Kumo when he'd needed to join Godaime Raikage Darui and his fellow jinchūriki Kirābī during their excursions here to extract information from some of the more reliable prisoners. It was with Kabuto's information that Kumo and Konoha launched a joint military operation to kill the reborn Orochimaru, destroy Otogakure once and for all, and demilitarize Ta no Kuni permanently. Naruto, of course, had been given a major piece of that military operation by Darui, much to Kakashi's displeasure, but Darui quickly pointed out that he had not actually caused Naruto to violate Kakashi's orders. If he couldn't aid Konoha from within Hi no Kuni's borders, Darui had no qualms about letting its hero aid his home village from a distance.

In exchange for his invaluable information, Kumo and Konoha had allowed Kabuto to resume some of his scientific research while at Hōzukijō. He had also wanted a chance to help out with some of the orphanages scattered across the Konoha-Kumo Alliance, but that request was to be forever denied.

_"Temae,"_ Naruto shot back, causing Kabuto to frown at his confrontational behavior. "Only you would think it's pleasant. But you already know why I'm here, so cut the crap and tell me what I need to know."

"Ah, yes, I was wondering when the Foundation would reappear and make its move against you. I've expected this to happen for a few years now, actually. If Shimura could not have you as his weapon, he would instead ensure that no one else, especially not Professor Sarutobi, could claim you as their weapon instead."

Naruto froze. He'd thought he expected this, but nothing could emotionally prepare him for confirming his suspicions. Hōzukijō was already packed full of unpleasant surprises, and now its most valuable prisoner just saw fit to drop the biggest bombshell of his life onto his shoulders.

"Jiji...wanted me to be a weapon?" he breathed out in disbelief.

"In some ways, you're still the same naïve child I first met back at the Chūnin Exams. All jinchūriki were viewed as weapons by the leaders of the villages they belong to, and your precious Sandaime Hokage was no exception. Though I'm not surprised by your reaction to this revelation. Sarutobi was a splendid actor. He used his advanced age very well. But not quite well enough, it would seem."

Those who knew Naruto knew he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve. His time in Kumo had better prepared him for the harsh reality of the post-war shinobi world, but if it wasn't necessary to hide his emotions, he didn't hide them. From the way he was trembling, Kabuto divulged that Naruto felt a dangerous mixture of negative feelings.

The biggest one among them being betrayal.

"Of course, I have all the proof you require to confirm the Sandaime's exploitation of you," Kabuto continued, revealing a small black book kept concealed in the left sleeve of his robe. "When the false leader of Akatsuki destroyed Konoha, it was ridiculously easy to sneak in and obtain everything I sought after. I didn't just take DNA samples of dead shinobi to use in my army of Edo Tensei summons, Naruto-kun. I also unearthed all the dirty secrets your predecessors buried away."

"Why are you so eager to help me, Kabuto?"

"I suppose it's the part of Orochimaru-sama that stayed with me talking, but I'm curious to see how events will unfold, now that the windmill has been set in motion. I desire to learn the price the world must pay for the truth to set you free." Naruto nodded at that as he took the book, labeled _Sandaime Hokage's Failures_, from the table Kabuto sat it on and began reading. There was no doubt whatsoever in Kabuto's mind that the world would pay a high price. The only question was how high would that price be.

As part of his Hokage training under Rokudaime Kakashi, Naruto had been required to evaluate the decisions his predecessors were forced to make in specific crises. To take the facts available at that time and see if he could make a better decision than they. Two of them had been the Uchiha Clan Downfall and the Hyūga Affair. His studies of each crisis had slowly eroded his faith in the Sandaime. Thanks to his involvement in the Gokage Summit, Naruto thought he knew every secret about those two affairs and was certain he would have handled things a lot better than his jiji.

But as it would turn out, Naruto had another think coming.

Kabuto left a bookmark for him which guided him to read about the Uchiha Massacre first, rather than start from the beginning. Naruto immediately learned that there were a few details about the aftermath of that tragedy which had continued to elude him until now. If Sarutobi Hiruzen had had everything go according to the plan kept contained inside this little black book, not only would the bastard Uchiha Sasuke still be alive, he would be little more than a mindless drone, a tool whose only function outside of missions would be as a breeding slave to create a new Uchiha Clan with the fierce loyalty of the Inuzuka.

_"Sensei's experience with the Uchiha clan in its glory days has taught me the reason why they were doomed to this fate. Nearly all Uchiha are incapable of living according to logic, because they are genetically enslaved to their emotions. This invariably leads them down a path of self-destruction. The very nature of the Uchiha made them a threat that had to be eradicated. Only if that nature is changed can the clan be allowed to return from the brink of extinction."_

Hiruzen had taken after Tobirama's belief that the Uchiha couldn't be reasoned with, that they were absolutely ruled by their emotions and not logic. Perhaps the only thing that had stopped the Sandaime from allowing Danzō to take Sasuke into ROOT, which had been the sole reason Danzō allowed Itachi to spare Sasuke, had been the fear of how Itachi would respond. By the time that fear was no longer an issue, the plan could no longer be salvaged.

Naruto did not accept the Nidaime and Sandaime's anti-Uchiha stance. Perhaps Sasuke had been irredeemable by the time the Fourth Shinobi World War began, but he was certain the Last Loyal Uchiha could have still been saved if someone had made a greater effort sooner. He just couldn't figure out how soon.

And what about everyone else in the clan who was innocent? What about the other children, the elderly, any Uchiha civilian who was not in the know about Fugaku's planned coup d'état against Konoha? Why couldn't they have been spared? Would it not have been easier to change the Uchiha for the better if the Sandaime and Danzō had decided to spare more innocents than Sasuke? Why couldn't they have just revealed the crimes of the guilty to influence the minds of the innocent, to make them ashamed of what transpired, and thus prevent a repeat incident? Why did they _all_ have to be slaughtered? Naruto just didn't and couldn't understand why anyone would consider such acts to be a necessary evil. Naruto knew he would have carried out the massacre himself had he been in Itachi's shoes—he himself had been forced to massacre another clan—but he would have left a lot more survivors. There was simply no chance in hell the entire Uchiha Clan could be guilty of treason. But this was a prime example of genuine contempt, if not outright corruption, from the leadership of Konoha.

Naruto was already seething in anger after reading this entry. But it only got worse from there.

In the event that Sasuke had survived and conformed to Hiruzen's plan for him, the Sandaime had also contemplated passing a law called the Clan Restoration Act which would have forced the Last Loyal Uchiha, or anyone else it was applied to, to take multiple wives of the Hokage's choosing and bear children with all of them within one year of the protocol's activation. When he read the list of intended wives, his chakra was flaring wildly. Hyūga Hinata and Ichiraku Ayame were on the list of women who would potentially be forced to help create a new Uchiha Clan, and as soon as he saw their names, Naruto knew they had been chosen as candidates for Sasuke's harem specifically because they were the only two women in all of Konoha who had seen past the Kyūbi no Yōko and cared about him without needing to overcome the peer pressure from the older generations. If all had gone to Hiruzen's plan and the law had been passed, Naruto would have still lost both of them forever. The only difference is that instead of just suffering alone, Naruto would have had to watch them suffer, oblivious to the reason for their suffering.

It was disturbingly similar to what Hiruzen's rival and the _Shinobi no Yami,_ Shimura Danzō, would have done if Sasuke had never defected from Konoha to Otogakure. In that moment, Naruto felt the last of his respect for the so-called Supreme Shinobi die forever.

After finishing with enlightening himself for the last time about one of Konoha's greatest tragedies, Naruto flipped the pages backward to return to the first mistake the Sandaime wrote down in his black book, the defection of Orochimaru after his inhuman experiments were exposed. _Hiruzen had actually allowed his former student to go free!_ So much would have been different if the Sandaime had done what needed to be done back then.

Two years ago, Naruto would not have truly blamed Hiruzen for letting his former student escape. He had once felt the same way about Sasuke, hoping there was still a chance to redeem his former best friend, but ultimately had been forced to do what was necessary.

But the two years since he returned from Kumo had seen the growth of a very different Naruto, one who was driven to expose every last dirty secret of Konoha and ensure the mistakes of his predecessors would never be repeated. His dead dream to become Hokage had been reborn into a bitter search for truth, and a witch hunt against those who still lived who might be implicated in the crimes he discovered.

_What the hell else have you done, old man?_ Naruto thought. He didn't really want the answer to that question.

Speaking of Kumo, Naruto soon learned that the Uchiha Massacre's aftermath had not been the only time Sarutobi and Shimura were willing to sacrifice Hinata for what they considered the good of the village. Danzō had arranged for the Hyūga Clan's council of elders to weaken security at the compound enough for the Head Ninja of Kumo to sneak in and kidnap the heiress. _Konoha had been willing to give the Byakugan to Kumo as a means to avoid further conflict._ And when Hiashi stepped in, killing the Head Ninja and triggering an international incident, the leadership of Konoha had been willing to sell him out when Yondaime Raikage Ē demanded he be executed and his body sent to Kumo to confirm his death.

At that point, the situation became a Catch-22. Given everything he knew about the Hyūga Affair and Ē's state of mind, Naruto was certain he would not have been able to avoid war with Kumo had he been Hokage back then, even if Konoha's allies had presented a united front against Ē's blackmail. Actually, the rage he felt towards Kumo's former regime for their role in the affair would have ensured a new declaration of war. Naruto had changed a lot over the years, but one thing that remained the same was his unwavering loyalty to his comrades. If a war was what it took to prevent his village from betraying a comrade to an enemy, Naruto would not have thought twice about leading Konoha into war. He recognized he was somewhat bloodlusted right now, but even if his judgment wasn't clouded, he could not think of another way to keep the peace that did not involve Konoha making a concession that Kumo had no right to demand.

But the real tragedy in the affair began after Hizashi's sacrifice. Apparently Hiruzen and Danzō had not anticipated his choice to take his twin brother's place. In choosing death, Hizashi spared Hiashi and denied Kumo the Byakugan. But he also brought on retaliation against the head family for his singular act of defiance, as noted in page fourteen of the Sandaime's black book:

_"The Hyūga were fools to allow Hizashi to die in his brother's stead. Had they pushed harder, the elders could have seized control over the clan and ensured their absolute loyalty to me. But with Hiashi still alive thanks to this act of defiance, he is able to continue defying my will with his support of Uzumaki Naruto. He must be made to suffer. Perhaps if he is broken, he can be forgiven his transgressions against his Hokage."_

Hiruzen and Danzō, through the Foundation and the Hyūga elders, had conducted a systematic campaign against Hiashi and Hinata. The goal had been to break them completely. And why? Because they had been two of the few people who tried to support Naruto during his hellish childhood, and the support went against the Sandaime's wishes.

Hiashi had, for a time, been broken, at least until Naruto's upset victory over Neji in the Chūnin Exams allowed him to experience a change of heart so he could begin to heal the rifts in his family. Danzō had arranged for the murder of Hinata's mother, and even worse, there were standing orders for ROOT to murder Hinata herself if it so much as looked like she would succeed in reforming the Hyūga Clan. More tears fell from Naruto's eyes as he thought about how everyone in power had opposed her so vehemently. He was also certain at this point that they would have murdered her if he'd ever returned her love while she still lived. _Were they truly destined to be separated forever, in life and death?_

Naruto almost couldn't will himself to keep reading, but he had little choice. There was one other major revelation to address, the one which started this bitter search for truth. Were Kabuto and the current Fire Daimyō right about Hiruzen? Had the Sandaime truly sought to turn Naruto into nothing more than a weapon?

Shaking in a combination of fear and rage, Naruto turned the pages to find the final entry, the one addressing Sarutobi's greatest failure.

And in that moment, any love he might have still harbored for his jiji turned to pure, unadulterated hate.

_"During my tenure as Hokage, there is no doubt that the single greatest mistake I've made is the decision to allow Uzumaki Naruto to live. While I wanted to kill him, I was bound to honor Minato's dying wish and let him live. The Yondaime wanted Konoha to see his orphaned son as a hero. He was naïve. The fear and prejudice of the villagers will not allow them to look past the Kyūbi no Yōko even though they are not stupid enough to mistake Naruto for the bijū he was cursed to carry inside him. But their fear can at least be a useful tool for conditioning Naruto. If he cannot be killed, then he will be molded into the weapon that all jinchūriki are meant to be."_

So it was true. Danzō was not alone in his desire to weaponize Naruto.

_"The boy's determination is unusual and defies conventional psychology, even if it was expected of him to inherit that from his mother. Even if no one acknowledges his existence, he refuses to give in to hate and despair._

_"Nonetheless, it is simple enough to encourage the villagers to act on their fear and hate, and serve my purposes regarding Minato's legacy. By encouraging the majority to surrender to their misgivings and distance themselves from him, Naruto will have no choice but to latch onto the few who accept him. These bonds he is desperate to have will instill in him an unwavering loyalty to Konoha._

_"The Ichiraku family is perhaps my greatest instrument of conditioning the child. Among all the civilian shop owners in Konoha, they are the only ones who are guaranteed not to turn him away. It is also worth noting that the shop Ichiraku Teuchi happens to run is a ramen stand. Kushina's addiction to ramen and her frequent visits to Ramen Ichiraku were well-known by her confidants, and there is no doubt Teuchi will see Naruto's mother in him whenever he serves the child's meals. Furthermore, the negative effects ramen has on the body will prevent Naruto from becoming aware of my plans for him. The high carbohydrate and sodium content of the ramen he is addicted to will hinder his mental development, and with his unwitting role in stunting Naruto's growth, Teuchi does his duty to Konoha by helping to keep the jinchūriki controlled._

_"After all, the perfect soldier only remains such for as long as he cannot question his orders or his loyalty to his commander."_

Naruto shook even more, and as his chakra flared to dangerous levels, the Blood Prison trembled with him. The Sandaime had wanted him to become reliant on a select few, and so encouraged the village to deny his existence as long as they obeyed the law? The part about Ichiraku being used like that also broke his heart, knowing that Teuchi and Ayame had truly cared about him and the Sandaime even admitted that in his journal. He was always mindful that Sakura and his mother had tried to get him to stop eating his comfort food so often because it was so unhealthy, but to think the Sandaime would encourage his addiction to it for that exact reason?

_"The other major effect this conditioning will have on Naruto's growth is that he will not be able to notice girls like normal boys do. The lack of positive attention in his life coupled with the damage caused to his brain by his ramen-heavy diet will cause him to misinterpret or ignore any signals given to him by members of the opposite sex._

_"In the event that he manages to successfully pursue a romantic relationship, his stunted growth and lack of proper education will likely prevent him from being able to perform more intimate acts with his significant other. This, too, is necessary to keep Naruto in check. If he were to have a real family, instead of the surrogate family Konoha is intended to become for him, he would place his loyalty to his blood family over his loyalty to Konoha. When the time comes to transfer the Kyūbi to another, a trusted kunoichi will be assigned to drug and rape him so that she may bear his child, which will also be conditioned into becoming a weapon for Konoha._

_"If by some chance should the impossible happen and this plan backfire, I have instructed Danzō to give a special dead man's cell of ROOT shinobi the standing order of eliminating the jinchūriki before he becomes a threat. This also means that no matter what, Uzumaki Naruto cannot be allowed to become Hokage, as his doing so would ultimately expose all of my darkest secrets and failures to the Elemental Nations. Should my successor find this journal, I trust that they will act accordingly to ensure the weapon does not have a chance to turn against his owners."_

Naruto couldn't read any more. Even if he could, he just now noticed that he had entered Bijū Mode during his reading, and the chakra flare was causing structural damage to Hōzukijō.

The Sandaime had never wanted Naruto to fulfill either of his dreams; he'd secretly acted to ensure neither would come true. He had taken every good quality of Naruto's and turned them into a curse. He had used the villagers' fear and distrust against Naruto, encouraging them to discriminate against him. He had pushed Naruto into suffering great abuse at the fists of Sakura-nēchan before she started maturing. He had acted against those shinobi who openly supported Naruto, and even had some of his supporters killed. And those who weren't killed, were either subjected to a worse hell than him, or used as pawns to keep him under control.

And the assassins he'd killed? It was Sarutobi who authorized their kill order against him.

But he couldn't accept that everything he'd believed in was a lie, just because he'd been so thoroughly manipulated and betrayed. The Will of Fire was not propaganda; it was real, even if the Sandaime himself didn't believe in it. The people of Konoha may have been ignorant, but that did not make them guilty of the Sandaime's crimes. If anything, they were also victims, not co-conspirators. And they had been won over eventually, learning to see him for him and not for the Kyūbi.

No matter how much he hated the Sandaime, Naruto could not bring himself to destroy Konoha. He could not kill thousands just to take revenge against a few. To do so would make him the worst monster of all time.

Now that his resolve was finalized, however, he would not allow these crimes to go unpunished. Turning back the clock just became more necessary than ever.

"Put these on," Naruto ordered, tossing a pair of chakra-suppressing bracers designed by ROOT to Kabuto. Briefly, he thought that perhaps he should have used the Kyūkon no Jutsu to rip Kabuto's soul out so he'd confirm this wasn't a fabrication, but decided that Ino would be able to verify it soon enough. "I'm taking you out of here for a short time."

Kabuto was flabbergasted. "Wow. Just...wow, Naruto-kun. Why are you so trusting all of a sudden?"

"Let's just say that something far bigger than you could imagine is about to happen. As you just said, the windmill has been set in motion, and I promise you won't want to miss what happens next." _And I feel like I owe you a debt for giving me the truth, but it will be a cold day in hell before I ever admit _that_ out loud._

* * *

_Konoha, Hokage Tower – Thirty minutes later_

The "war council" Uzumaki Naruto called was pretty impressive, considering the depletion of skilled shinobi Konohagakure no Sato suffered in the Fourth Shinobi World War and the subsequent civil war against the Fire Capital. Out of all the Elemental Nations, Konoha had the highest number of S-rank ninja in its military ranks, and Naruto had summoned every single one who was currently available to his office.

Just about every S-rank ninja in Konoha became S-rank either during or after the war, and could be divided into three groups. The first group consisted of the Konoha 6, as they were called since the war ended.

The most famous person among them, besides Naruto himself, was Haruno Sakura, Naruto's surrogate sister and a late bloomer. After ten years, she still kept her hair cut short, but any accusations of her being a man in disguise during her teenage years had been put to rest long ago. During her training under the late Senju Tsunade and the two major wars which left Hi no Kuni nearly crippled, Sakura had not been able to focus on her looks as much as she'd liked. But now, she managed to radiate both beauty and strength at once. Her pink hair was cut to chin length and she returned to wearing a red qipao dress like she used to wear as a preteen, along with a black obi that kept it tied down, black shorts, black high-heel ninja sandals and gray elbow and knee protectors. But her green eyes were her most defining feature, for one simple yet infinitely complex reason: they hid away a story of unfathomable anguish.

Next was Naruto's counselor and closest friend, Yamanaka Ino, who stood close to her husband Sai. Like Sakura, she'd had to sacrifice vanity during the Hi no Kuni civil war, although in recent months, her figure was commented on by many to have the spiciness of the famous Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, Uzumaki Kushina...at least when she wasn't on duty. Her pale blonde hair extended almost all the way to the floor. Her hair did not go well with her current outfit, however; Ino was geared in her jet black Anbu bodysuit, which had evolved over the years to maximize both comfort and protection. The standard light armor which accompanied previous versions of the Anbu uniform was not present, as the bodysuit itself was made of hyper-fibers which were several times more effective than the old mesh armor which used to be the standard for kunoichi. Despite the clash between her hair and bodysuit Ino was still considered beautiful even when in uniform, and her blue eyes accentuated that beauty despite the pain they hid away.

Then there was Aburame Shino. His outfit did not change much since the war ended; he still wore a heavy hooded trench coat, along with black sunglasses framing a poker face that rivaled any Hyūga, to maximize stealth and provide sufficient darkness for his kikaichū hives. The sunglasses were there to prevent anyone from looking into his eyes, for his eyes betrayed his normal stoic expression.

The second group consisted of older, "warborn" shinobi, those who were already veterans before the Elemental Nations united against the terrorist group Akatsuki and the global disasters brought on by Madara and Obito's Project Tsuki no Me. Aside from Rokudaime Hokage Hatake Kakashi, the only member of this group currently present was Hyūga Hiashi. Age had not treated Hiashi well; about a third of his hair—which he'd cut short long ago as an indicator of deep shame—had turned a silvery gray, and his face was riddled with faint scars, the highest concentration of them being centered around his eyes. Hiashi was still a man of many secrets, his eyes being one of the most closely kept secrets, as they were no longer his own, but rather, were taken from another Hyūga. He still wore the traditional clan robes, though the haori was now black instead of the original brown. Like Shino, Hiashi's pale eyes betrayed the lack of expression worn on his face.

The third group consisted of the last four surviving members of Akatsuki, only three of whom were present: Yakushi Kabuto, Hōzuki Suigetsu and Uzumaki Karin. The fourth member, Jūgo, spent most of his days in solitude around Konoha's forests, communing with nature to keep his murderous split personality in check. Suigetsu and Karin had not changed much in terms of appearance since the Fourth Shinobi World War, though both had let their hair grow longer since being released from Hōzukijō on limited parole under Anbu surveillance, and Suigetsu had been permanently stripped of the right to wield Kubikiribōchō, the former sword of Momochi Zabuza. Both wore a magenta cloak over loose-fitting tan robes. Suigetsu kept his white hair in a ponytail, while Karin's distinctive red hair was partially held back by her eyeglasses. They, too, were visibly haunted by their experiences.

Besides their classification and their emotional damage, all nine of the summoned ninja had but a single thing in common: a strong personal connection to their Nanadaime Hokage. For some of them, Naruto was the only reason why they'd managed to stay relatively sane after the horrors they either witnessed or created.

Most of the nine ninja were fidgeting. Half of the reason was because of the sight in front of them. Naruto had not had anyone clean the mess left behind from the assassination attempt. While some were accustomed to such sloppiness, having been invited inside his first apartment, they knew the corpses and broken furniture had been deliberately left there. The mess was the reason they had been summoned.

The other half of the reason for their discomfort was mutual distrust. Old wounds did not heal so easily.

"Do not think that our opinions of you have changed during these past ten years," Shino growled at Kabuto and Suigetsu. "Your crimes are still unforgivable, no matter what Hokage-sama thinks."

"And do not assume that Naruto-kun has forgiven us, _any of us,"_ Kabuto shot back. The reply took Shino aback; did Naruto actually hold a grudge, even if minor, against his friends?

"I wonder..." Sai commented, scratching his chin, "if Kabuto fused with the giant snake because he was trying to compensate for a tiny penis?"

_Leave it to Sai to say the wrong thing at the wrong time,_ Ino mentally groaned, rubbing her head to address the headache she knew her husband was about to trigger with his stupidity. She didn't know it was Sai's intention to pick a fight with the ex-nukenins.

"You dare say that about the mastermind of the Fourth Shinobi World War?" Suigetsu snarled. "Clearly you don't have any idea how much balls it takes to do so."

"I must disagree. It says in one of the history books I've read that wars are always started by cowards, and it's a common belief that cowards don't have as much balls as you imply Kabuto has. Then again, I suppose you would know better than I, since your knowledge of him clearly shows a greater level of intimacy than I would ever wish to attain." Suigetsu's eyes glazed over in rage. Did Sai really just imply that Suigetsu and Kabuto had been gay for one another?

"Also," Sai continued, ignoring the tick mark on Suigetsu's forehead, "it's plain to see that you're doing some heavy compensating yourself, as displayed by your obsession with large swords and flashy techniques. And your peculiar ability to turn yourself into water certainly can't help your size issues, either."

"That does it, you're—"

"What the actual fuck is going on here!" a new voice shouted, breaking down the door with a Mokuton technique.

"Yamato-taichō…" Ino gasped, shaking; Yamato already had his trademark creepy glare focused on the sorry lot of ninja in Naruto's office.

Yamato wasn't having any of it: "Is it not possible to leave you alone for five minutes without having to restrain you to make sure you don't pull this kind of shit? Hokage-sama would be deeply disappointed in all of you if he were the one who just walked in on this pathetic scene. Next time, I won't think twice about trapping you in my wood if that's what it takes to make you children behave."

"Oh, and you're not going too far either?" another voice questioned Yamato. Everyone recognized it immediately and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out in relief.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Naruto announced. "Yamato-taichō and I had to reinforce the Hokage Tower to make sure it doesn't come crashing down on us during this meeting." That immediately triggered a wave of murmurs amongst the assembled ninja.

"While I'm certain there are not any pranks in the making here, Naruto-sama, I do not appreciate the timing of your summons," a very irate Hiashi spoke up while Sai snickered at his misfortune. "My, ahem, mistress and I were in the middle of attempting to conceive a child." _Screw what the others think of me for using a mistress, _he thought. _I just can't marry again, not after my family was so thoroughly destroyed._ Naruto was quite familiar with the reasons why Hiashi hadn't remarried, and he didn't blame the Hyūga patriarch in the slightest.

"That is way too much information for my virgin ears, Hiashi-sama," the Nanadaime replied, subtly referring to the fact he has never had sex or even dated anyone despite the dozens of attempts to set him up with someone after the war. Naruto was simply incapable of feeling attracted to others. Losing Hinata really had hit him _that_ hard. "I'm sorry for the bad timing, but I promise this is more important than trying to save your clan."

"Oh?" Hiashi raised an eyebrow at those words, an extraordinary reaction for most Hyūga. Naruto responded by reentering Hokage Mode to began the briefing.

"The ten of you were summoned here due to a failed assassination attempt made against me by the remnants of the Foundation, and around you, you can see the results of that attempt. Thanks to Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan, which Sakura-nēchan saw fit to give me in secret ten years ago, I was able to learn the reason they attacked, and while Sai was gathering most of you, I spent that time finding the proof I needed to confirm their motive. I warn you, what I'm about to share with you during the course of this briefing may be the most damning knowledge some of you have ever learned.

"But first," he continued, "I'm going to need Ino to enter my mindscape to retrieve the ROOT assassin's memories."

"Got it," Ino said. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" she called out without performing the technique-specific hand seal, no longer needing to use it after years of pushing her mental abilities to the limit. Sakura caught her as she started to fall onto the floor, while Naruto slumped backward in his chair.

* * *

_Inside Naruto's Mindscape_

Each time Ino used her clan techniques to enter Naruto's mindscape, the surroundings seemed to have deteriorated even more. The first time she saw the sewer that contained Kurama's cage, it had been greatly depressing, knowing how much Naruto had to be suffering for his mindscape to take such form. Tonight, the scene was far more depressing, as the sewer walls showed major signs of decay, and Ino could have sworn she saw a few storm clouds brewing overhead.

_Was Naruto really broken that much?_ Ino wondered, fully aware it was the first thing she asked herself each time she entered his mind despite already knowing the answer. She was then broken out of her thoughts by a familiar strong wind blowing past.

**"What you see here,"** a deep, guttural voice roared, **"is the result of ten years of agony brought on by the war and its aftermath. My jailor and partner accepted long ago that he is destined for an eternity of misery. This is the fate of all jinchūriki. Though I had begun to hope that Naruto would change this fate, as he changed so much else in this world."**

"Hello again, Kurama-sama," Ino said.

**"I cannot say it's a pleasure to see you again, Yamanaka-san, given the circumstances of this meeting,"** the now identified Kurama replied as the bijū emerged from the shadows. **"However, it is pleasant to note how greatly your skills with your mental techniques have improved over the years. Had we been able to allow this timeline to continue, it is feasible that you could have successfully resurrected ninshū."** Ninshū, or _ninja creed,_ was the original form of ninjutsu and was what Hagoromo taught during his lifetime, however his teachings were largely forgotten after his death. Ninshū had not been revived until the Fourth Shinobi World War, and even then, only a handful of individuals, namely Naruto, had been able to revive the forgotten creed; worse still, their revival of ninshū was only temporary. In this day and age, it was the Yamanaka Clan, with their mental ninjutsu, who were the closest to practicing ninshū.

"What do you mean by allowing this timeline to continue?"

**"Naruto has already decided to go back in time using the same technique my creator used to appear in his mindscape during the last battle against Madara. This is the purpose of this war council he called this evening."** Ino had not expected that response at all. She recovered quickly enough, however.

"Then why even summon anyone if we're not going to remember this meeting?"

Kurama growled. Naruto may have conquered the Kyūbi's hate, but it was still easily annoyed by humans. **"You have just made two incorrect assumptions, Yamanaka-san. First, you assumed that Naruto would not be able to glean any useful insight from his comrades which would allow him to devise a better plan for dealing with his enemies and correcting his past mistakes. And second, you assumed that Naruto and I would be alone in our venture. He intends to bring some of his allies with him."**

Ino's eyes widened at Kurama's reply. "But wouldn't it be safer to not include anyone else in his plan? The more of us who go back with him, the greater the odds of us being discovered and compromised."

**"For his plan to succeed at all, it must be revealed to select others. Naruto knows he'll need the support of friends in high places, who can be trusted completely, to have any chance of realizing his new ambition. And when the plan inevitably goes to shit, he will need their support even more to successfully adapt."**

The short pause in Kurama's speech made Ino very nervous. **"Even if the risk of including others in this plan outweighed the benefits, Naruto has no desire to go at this alone. The kōzō was taught a very important lesson by Uchiha Itachi during the war. It was from Itachi that Naruto finally learned not to carry his burdens and try to solve all of his problems alone. Doing so would have eventually turned him into another Madara. Having taken Itachi's words to heart, Naruto refuses to reset the timeline without letting at least some of his friends keep their memories of what was never meant to be.**

**"With that being said, Yamanaka-san, I suggest you make haste in locating the memories relevant to this meeting."**

"I'm not here merely to view the memory of the ROOT cell's leader. I'm here to make copies of the memory and distribute them among my friends and comrades."

That last statement earned a raised eyebrow from Kurama. The implications of that statement, and what it meant to the plan, were a wholly new degree of astounding. **"You just secured your place as one of the comrades Naruto will take back in time with him, Ino,"** the kitsune said. The fact it called her by her given name instead of her clan name, and had also dropped the honorific suffix, was not lost on Ino. She knew Kurama had just been impressed, which was not an easy feat to accomplish.

**"Before you go to locate and copy the assassin's memory,"** Kurama added, **"I would also suggest copying the memory of the meeting Naruto had with Kabuto while your husband was rounding up this war council. The images of each page he read in the Sandaime's black book he committed to memory are astonishingly clear. It would be much easier to reveal the truth to everyone this way, via your Shindenshin no Jutsu, than if Naruto had to explain everything alone."**

"Got it, Kurama-sama." She did not hesitate in following the exact path the Kyūbi laid out for her.

* * *

_Back in the Hokage's office..._

Ino awakened after just two minutes of real time. In many cases, she had taken far longer with her target, wanting to snoop around to get the lowdown on more personal details, but tonight she was all business. Everyone present here saw that as a good sign.

"Do you have the memory, Ino?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, plus one more," Ino replied. "Kurama-sama also had me retrieve the memory of your meeting with Kabuto. The fox wants us to break the news to everyone together."

Naruto sighed. Outwardly he showed no other reaction, but he was very upset with Kurama. His bijū still hadn't learned how to ask permission to intervene in affairs off the battlefield.

"So be it," he grumbled. Now for the most important part: "There's one more thing I need from you guys. I need you to promise that no matter how you react to the sins I'll soon reveal, none of you will attempt to destroy Konoha in retribution. If you cannot make that promise, leave now."

_Wait, what?_ was the general thought of everyone present. Just how bad could this information be if Naruto was demanding a new confirmation of their loyalty prior to revelation? How much anger was Naruto continuing to hold back?

"Naruto-baka," Sakura said in a dangerous tone of voice, "just get on with it. Our loyalty to you is absolute. I can see in your eyes why you'd be doubting us, but it still makes me sick that you would doubt your nēchan, or any of your friends. We're sticking with you no matter what, _believe it."_ Everyone else, even Hiashi and Suigetsu, who along with Sakura were the ones whose possible reactions Naruto questioned the most, nodded their heads at this to show their stance on this matter. Ino and Kakashi also chuckled at Sakura's deliberate use of Naruto's old verbal tic/catchphrase.

Naruto was actually in awe at their response. He truly hadn't expected his fierce loyalty to rub off on his comrades like this. _Comrade is definitely the wrong word, though. They're all nakama now._

"Guys...thank you, all of you." A small smile formed on Naruto's lips. Most of them gasped at his response; this was the first time since the war ended that any of them had seen the Nanadaime Hokage with a smile on his face, and it was a true smile at that. Their unity and absolute loyalty was also almost enough for Naruto to shed tears of joy. That the tears couldn't escape his moistened eyes was another testament to how deep his emotional scars ran. "Ino, let's begin."

"Right," Ino said. "Shindenshin no Jutsu!" she called, flashing through the required hand seals very quickly. Within seconds, everyone in the office was telepathically linked to one another, with Ino's mindscape serving as the central hub.

_"This is weird,"_ Karin said through the mental link; Team Taka had been among the few who never experienced telepathy during the war. _"I don't know how anyone can put up with this."_

_"Endure it, Karin,"_ Naruto ordered. _"Show them every single page in the Sandaime's black book, Ino. They won't need to see the ROOT nin's memory after they see this."_

_"You don't need to tell me once, never mind twice,"_ Ino retorted. Naruto's memories started flashing through the minds of everyone present, and some of them were astonished by the quality of the images they viewed. If Ino wanted, she could reproduce Sarutobi's journal simply by hooking herself up to one of the Mind Reading Amplification Machines inside the Konoha Intelligence Division and printing out copies of each frame in the viewed memory.

The first details of the Uchiha Clan Massacre did not faze anyone here. Kakashi had revealed the truth of the Massacre, at least what he knew, after Naruto's return from exile, saying it no longer needed to be kept secret now that the Uchiha were confirmed extinct. It was when they read about the Sandaime's plans for Sasuke, Clan Restoration Act included, that waves of disgust started rolling over them. Like Naruto, everyone else lost their respect for the Sandaime almost instantly.

The revelation that Hiruzen had allowed Orochimaru to escape from Konoha when his forbidden experiments were exposed didn't affect anyone nearly as much, so it was quickly passed over.

A rage greater in magnitude than Naruto's overtook Hiashi when Ino started showing the pages detailing the Hyūga Affair. Almost the entire Hyūga Main House had been against him until Hiruzen and Danzō gave the order to murder Hitomi, making it appear she had died on a mission. As he went over the journal entry, he also felt Naruto's sadness and rage, as did everyone else. Kakashi, Hiashi, Sakura, Ino, Karin, and even Sai were brought to their knees by the raw agony that overwhelmed Naruto when he read this.

All of them were taken aback when they also felt something darker in Naruto's thoughts. Learning the tragedy of Hinata's life had caused a strong desire for revenge to take hold over his heart. Naruto had no greater wish than to destroy everyone who had stayed the course of hurting her.

Sakura was completely floored by the intensity of his emotions. _Naruto...his desire to avenge all the wrongs done to Hinata...it's stronger than the desire Sasuke had to avenge his clan…_

_Naruto-oniisama's chakra is turning dark,_ Karin thought, _even darker than Sasuke's was…_

_"You're allowing your emotions to get the better of you, Naruto-sama, just like the Uchiha did,"_ Hiashi said. Judging from Naruto's reaction as well as drawing on his memories of helping Naruto create his agenda for reforming the world, Hiashi already knew exactly what the Nanadaime Hokage was planning to do. _"But in this one case, I cannot hold it against you. I just hope you won't blame me if my sword should taste Hyūga blood before you get a chance to."_

_"Who says I'm gonna blame you if you kill them first, Hiashi-sama?"_ Naruto asked. _"You're the only person here who has a greater right to vengeance than me. I only lost the only person capable of loving me romantically. You lost your entire family and almost an entire clan. You get first dibs, and you don't have to send me an invitation either."_

_"I will be sure to keep that in mind. But if you should choose not to partake in retribution against the guilty members of my clan, then who will you kill to sate your thirst for revenge?"_

_"Let the memory finish first, then I'll tell everyone The Plan."_ Hiashi nodded at this as the others got back onto their feet.

The final abomination broke and hardened their hearts, and solidified their resolve. Learning that Hiruzen had manipulated Naruto's entire life to this extent, just to transform him into a weapon and deny him his two dreams, fanned the cold flames of hatred lit in the hearts of everyone gathered to witness the exposure of this sin.

Slowly, a greater realization started to sink in. Naruto was going after the Sandaime Hokage. But how did he plan to tarnish Sarutobi's legacy?

They would soon learn that wasn't Naruto's plan at all. Why settle for destroying the Sandaime's legacy when you have a chance to turn back time and destroy the Sandaime himself?

"This timeline is beyond saving," Naruto said aloud. Ino took that as her cue to end her Shindenshin broadcast. "There's far too much that has gone wrong here, and I will not try and reform a world that has been so badly damaged by the misdeeds of our predecessors. But I still plan to keep my promises to you. The only problem is when."

"Just what are you planning, Naruto?" Hiashi asked, giving voice to what everyone but him was wondering.

"Shortly before I summoned all of you here, I thought back on how completely I failed to keep the promise Sakura-nēchan had me make to her after the war. The idea happened when I thought about how the Rikudō Sennin showed up in my mindscape while Sakura-nēchan was trying to save me. Then I checked the Forbidden Scroll of Seals and found out that the jikūkan ninjutsu Rikudō-ojiisama used to manifest himself had actually been recorded by Shodai-sama. In short," he said, unrolling the Scroll of Seals onto the broken desk in front of him, "the plan is time travel."

If a pin were to be dropped inside that room, everyone present would hear it as loudly as if Kakashi had just hit someone with the Raikiri. Nearly everyone looked at Naruto with some form of disbelief written on their faces.

"Did you really just suggest going back in time, Hokage-sama?" Yamato asked, incredulous, summarizing the thoughts of nearly everyone else.

"We've actually done it before, Yamato-taichō. Sure, Tōchan erased our memories of the whole thing, but I started having dreams about the mission and was able to fully recover the lost memories during my exile to Kumo."

"So _that's_ what happened on the failed mission to capture Mukade?" This time it was Sakura asking. Naruto nodded, eliciting a gasp from his sister figure. "Holy fucking shit, Naruto. The implications of this are _huge._ There's so much we could change if it's actually possible to repeat that."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "It is, but I'm gonna have to give up a lot of my power to do it." His eyes glazed over for a few seconds, which did not come as a shock to anyone in his office; they all knew he had frequent conversations with Kurama now that the jinchūriki and bijū were on good terms. "Looks like Kurama wants to take over explaining this stuff."

**"How annoying,"** Kurama said through Naruto's body just two seconds after he notified the others he was about to switch control with his bijū. **"The kōzō still gets on my nerves with alarming frequency."**

"How do you even put up with my baka otōto?" Sakura asked.

Kurama-possessed Naruto rolled his red, slitted eyes. He would not dignify that with a verbal answer. **"In any case, anyone who goes back in time with Naruto via the Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu will revert back to the physical condition we were in at the time we choose to return to. Any and all knowledge and memories we have of this timeline will be retained, but since your bodies will be younger, certain abilities may have to be reacquired. Naruto will lose his Rinnegan and will likely be unable to draw in natural energy to access Sage Mode until he either signs the Toad Contract again, or his chakra reserves return to the level he achieved during his teenage years, I'm not sure which. And since I will be locked away in that infernal Hakke no Fūin Shiki again, he will not have access to my chakra beyond the version one Bijū cloak, and even then, he likely won't be able to draw upon more than a single tail's worth of chakra. He will also have issues with retraining his body to be able to properly access some of the taijutsu styles and ninjutsu he didn't have at that point in the original timeline.**

**"The powers of the Rikudō Sennin are required to activate the time travel jutsu, which will take three minutes to perform correctly. Needless to say, those powers will be lost when Naruto returns to the past, so there will likely be no more chances after this, even if our trip back through time will allow my creator another chance to manifest inside Naruto's mindscape. And even with the sacrifice required to activate the jutsu, he will only be able to take a maximum of three others along with him.**

**"Naruto and I have already agreed that Yamanaka Ino will be one of those three, due to her ability to copy the memories of others. The purpose of this meeting is to decide who else will be going back with him,"** Kurama finished before relinquishing control back to Naruto.

"Ino-pig," Sakura said a little too sweetly, and a little too quickly after Kurama's message ended.

"Yes, Billboard Brow?"

"Why the _fuck_ did you never tell me that you learned how to copy memories?"

"You _do_ realize I'm married to Sai now, yes?" was Ino's reply.

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything, Billboard! He's former ROOT, and it's ROOT that tried to kill Naruto tonight! I know how their minds work. It was way too dangerous to let anyone know I could do this. If they found out I had this ability, they would have attempted to capture and convert me to their side."

"I'm siding with Ino on this one, Sakura-nēchan," Naruto said. "As everyone here knows, I spent a long time in Kumo right after the war ended and Kakashi-sensei banished me when the Daimyōs took over. The higher-ranking ninja there had a certain saying: 'If two people know it, it's not a secret.' And with ROOT still running around in Hi no Kuni even after Danzō's death, they definitely would've tried to make Ino disappear if anyone else knew. From the sound of our conversation, her jutsu is a major threat to them."

Sakura relented. Naruto was right: Ino had become more proficient in mental ninjutsu than anyone else in the history of the shinobi world, and that made her a big target for anyone who figured this out. ROOT would have tried to enslave or assassinate her, the latter only if the former was impossible to achieve. Also, it's not like Naruto could do anything to punish her, not when her mental powers were a key part of his plan.

"Regardless, I believe now is the time for you to explain the particulars of your technique, Ino," Naruto continued, re-entering Hokage Mode.

"Okay then," Ino said. "The technique I used to copy your memories is actually an extension of a more powerful defensive ninjutsu I developed called Kioku Sōki no Jutsu. The defensive nature of the technique comes from its ability to create temporary holograms of myself, as well as psychically interfere with an opponent's ninjutsu and cancel it, should I happen to possess a memory of the technique that's being used against me and activate the technique just before they finish weaving hand seals. Sadly, the jutsu-cancel ability is flawed since it only works against techniques which require hand seals. Techniques like your Rasengan and its many variants, Naruto-sama, would be unaffected, as would any technique the user has mastered to the point of no longer needing hand seals to perform. The necessary extensions of the technique to maximize its usefulness are Kioku Fukusei no Jutsu, which allows me to copy a target's memories, and Kioku Tensō no Jutsu, which allows me to transfer the copied memories to others."

"What's the difference between this 'memory replication', as you call it, and simply retrieving the target's memories through the standard mind transfer?"

"Well, Naruto-sama, the regular Yamanaka clan techniques are more limited. Using the standard techniques doesn't actually let me keep any memories I view from the target unless I myself commit them to memory the normal way. This puts a limit on the length of the memories I can retain. However, Kioku Fukusei allows me to copy and retain a far longer span of the target's memories. If need be, I could store away a copy of the target's entire life from their perspective."

"And let's say I need you to copy fifteen years' worth of memories from multiple targets. How many people's memories would you be able to store away under that condition?"

Ino took a few seconds to breathe and gather her thoughts. "I've only had the ability developed for about a year, so I don't know what the maximum limits are yet. But I think I can handle up to four others, Naruto-sama. But I wouldn't recommend copying Billboard Brow's memories because of Inner."

Naruto nodded, remembering what Ino referenced with her advisory. During the Chūnin Exams, Naruto's shouting had caused Sakura to become aware of Ino's presence inside her mind, and her Inner Sakura had forced Ino out, rendering the Shintenshin no Jutsu useless. There was a strong chance that if they only took Sakura's memories back in time and not Sakura herself, Inner Sakura would interfere with any attempt to give Sakura her memories back, leaving them stuck with a useless comrade until she had her wake-up call again. Naruto wanted his nēchan to stay with him, and the only way to ensure that was for her to physically travel back.

"So nēchan is coming back in time with us," Naruto spoke softly. Then his trademark idiot grin broke out for the first time since the war ended. "Sweet!"

"That is not the wording I would have used, but I am in agreement with Ino-san and Naruto-sama," Shino added. "Why, you ask? Because I cannot help but remember that Sakura-san and Ino-san were the two worst fangirls in history back during our last year in the Konoha Ninja Academy."

Sakura's head dropped after hearing that. "Were we really that bad when we were younger?" she wondered.

"Yes," Kakashi, Shino and Sai replied. Sakura only sulked even further.

"Enough with the guilt tripping," Naruto ordered. "Let's hurry and figure out who the last time traveler's gonna be. We can't think that ROOT doesn't have any other assassins out there, and we can't afford to waste anymore time in this sorry excuse of a future. Keep in mind that it has to be someone who has a valid reason why we can't just copy their memories and return them to their owner upon our arrival in the past."

"Well, I'm out," Kakashi said. "There's nothing stopping Ino from giving my past self my memories, as long as she does it on the day of team assignments."

"I, too, should not physically partake in the Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu," Sai said. "It will be some time before Danzō would assign me to spy on you, Naruto-sama, and if he discovers I have memories of the history we intend to erase, it would not bode well for anyone in Konoha."

"Personally, I would rather not have knowledge of this timeline when we reset it," Shino piped in. "My clansmen would be quicker to notice suspicious behavior than most, were I to join you in this venture."

"There's just one problem with that, Shino-kun," Ino said.

"Would you enlighten me, Ino-san?"

"There is no way in hell Suigetsu and I are going back with Naruto-oniisama," Karin answered for Ino. "I don't know where my teammate from Hebi was or what he was doing before he was captured by Orochimaru, but it is far too much of a risk for me to go back to the hell the snake bastard had me confined to. Just like Sai, if I go back, we risk an enemy finding out what we're not supposed to know. Taking our memories with you is also a no-go." Suigetsu nodded in agreement with her.

Now it was Kabuto's turn: "I would be far more careful and take every precaution against exposure, of course. That is, assuming I would still be on your side if I went back. The only reason I'm here now is because the reanimated Itachi broke free from my control during the war thanks to a gift he gave Naruto-kun during the pursuit of Sasuke-kun and trapped me in the ultimate visual genjutsu, the Izanami. My knowledge and past make me a dangerous wild card and depending on the missing fine print of this time travel technique, I could end up swinging either way." Kurama had not said whether they were merging with their past selves or actually reversing the flow of time, and Kabuto was cautious by nature. "You'd have to find a way to replicate Izanami to ensure my allegiance to Naruto-kun. And it goes without saying that Naruto-kun won't use the Edo Tensei to revive Itachi and ascertain such a method before we go back. However...even if you can't procure my loyalty, my memories are too valuable to your effort to not copy."

"That leaves me or Yamato-san," Hiashi observed. "It is not my intention to offend Yamato-san or come off as arrogant, but I am the better choice to join Naruto-sama."

"No offense is taken, Hiashi-sama, and I agree," Yamato replied, speaking for the first time since his rude entrance. "Naruto-sama will need to form many political connections as quickly as possible, and having the Hyūga Clan as an ally will provide him with a tremendous advantage in his endeavors."

"Not only that, but I need to be able to assist Naruto-sama from the very beginning of our alterations to the timeline. We cannot afford to wait until the Chūnin Selection Exams for Naruto to save the Hyūga."

"So it's decided?" Naruto asked, receiving nods from everyone present. "Ino, copy the memories of Kakashi, Kabuto, Shino, and, yes, you can copy Sai's memories too," he added at the end, making Ino's eyes light up in gratitude.

Shino was not agreeable to that decision. "May I remind you, Naruto-sama, that I—"

"Objection overruled, Shino," Naruto snapped at him. "I'm planning on taking us back to the day we took our final exams at the academy. I don't think we'll be able to change team assignments from what they originally were, and I want at least one time traveler on all three of the rookie teams. Taking your memories with us is the only way to make that happen."

"Understood." Shino thought Naruto should have copied Yamato or Karin's memories instead, as he felt he would be a liability to Naruto's plan, but he understood the Nanadaime's reasoning and the unsaid order in his speech: _Protect Hinata._ Plus, they were already taking Kabuto's memories, which Kabuto pointed out would prove to be invaluable even if they couldn't get the former ROOT ninja and infamous traitor back on their side.

Naruto turned to the ex-nukenins and said, "And don't worry, Karin and Suigetsu. Even though you two won't remember any of this, I'll make sure you and Jūgo are rescued from Orochimaru in the past as soon as possible. That's my promise of a lifetime to you."

Everything moved quickly after that. Naruto prepared a ritualistic circle on the floor indicating where the time travelers would have to stand while he cast the Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu, while Ino moved to the farthest edge of that circle to perform Kioku Fukusei no Jutsu on her husband, the Rokudaime, the Aburame heir and the Snake Sennin. None of the participants in this plan needed Naruto to elaborate further for the time being. They already had a good enough idea of what he planned to do. Any details they might have missed, Naruto would have plenty of time to explain after they were safe and sound in the past.

The consequences of the Sandaime's betrayal and Naruto's retaliation would create shockwaves reverberating throughout the time stream. And while Konoha would survive the coming storm, the shinobi world would soon be altered beyond recognition.

* * *

**A/N: ...Apparently I have to remind people who lack reading comprehension that Naruto will NOT go back to Part 1 power levels. Were it not for needing to retrain his body, Naruto would STILL be S-rank, and this is despite losing the implanted Rinnegan, Hagoromo's chakra, and temporarily losing the ability to harness natural energy and access Bijū Mode.**

**Also, for those rereading this who are asking why I changed the spelling of "teme" to "temae": I was changing it to the correct spelling after looking deeper into the use of Japanese honorifics, suffixes and pronouns, something I should have done when the chapter was originally posted. For those who have read _Princess of Konoha,_ you may have noted that the authors of that story use "temee", which is a more rude version of "temae".**

**Next chapter: _Keikaku._ How do Naruto, Sakura and Hiashi react to being in the past again? Stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter 3: Keikaku

_Chapter 3_

_Keikaku_

_Hyūga Compound – January 21, 996 A.C. (Morning of the Graduation Exams) – 0330 hours_

Sleep was not something Hyūga Hiashi had much of a need for in his middle age. He'd trained viciously in his youth to eliminate all signs of weakness, both physically and mentally. As a result of that conditioning, he'd spent many nights alone in his office, thinking and doing things that were often unbecoming of a Hyūga.

That training made him grateful to Kurama for the bijū's decision to have him stay awake upon arrival in the past. He could easily take the loss of sleep in stride. It would allow him to get a precious head start on several matters of personal importance.

Highest on his list of priorities was reconciling with his daughters and setting his relationship with them back on the right course, though Hinata needed it more surely than Hanabi. Currently, he was sitting down at the foot of his eldest daughter's bed, watching over her sleeping form while he carefully chose the words he would say to her when she woke up.

Hiashi was tempted to cry at the sight of his eldest, from a mixture of joy and guilt. Joy that he had a second chance to make things right and be the father his daughters deserved, instead of simply the clan head who deprived his children of a proper childhood and drove them away. And guilt that he had done so, and knowing that most of his mistakes were not undone by his participation in the time travel scheme.

Being here, now—it felt surreal to the Hyūga patriarch. Hiashi had trouble believing that his and Naruto's plan worked (so far), that he was really in the past again, that fifteen years had been erased with a single jutsu.

Hiashi had wanted to go back even further, to save Minato and Kushina and eliminate Hiruzen, Danzō and Obito before they could screw up Konoha as well as Naruto's life, but even the Rikudō Sennin's power Naruto had tapped into in the original timeline had limits. Also, if they had been able to go back that far, the baby Sakura and Ino would have been overwhelmed and lost their memories, Kurama would not be trusted by Kushina, and it would have been up to Hiashi and Minato to do everything that needed doing. An unacceptable scenario. Fifteen years was the most ideal length of time to travel, given the circumstances. It would allow all the participants in Naruto's plan to become ready for war quickly, as well as allow Hiashi and Naruto time to set up a power base which would be used to facilitate their revolution.

Hiruzen, Danzō and the Konoha Council had to be eliminated, as did the five Daimyōs of the Elemental Nations. The power of the Daimyō itself had to be weakened, if not eliminated altogether; while many in the shinobi villages believed their influence was weaker than a Kage's, the cold fact of the matter is they had the ability to destroy whole countries without a single overt act of aggression. It was happening now in Kaze no Kuni. It had nearly happened to Hi no Kuni in the future. It would _not_ be allowed to happen again.

Naruto's plan was ambitious. The threat of Akatsuki had brought the Elemental Nations together, but Naruto wanted to see if the same unity could be achieved without war or terrorism—although he admitted it might not be possible. Either way, his endgame was to unite every land in the region, both major and minor, into a single nation, or at least a federation if the goal of one shinobi nation couldn't be achieved by his generation. All of the Kages would lead together, chosen by the people to guide the people. It was almost the exact opposite of what existed currently. The system Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara created together had worked to bring some semblance of stability, but as long as it existed, lasting peace would forever elude the people of the shinobi world. The daimyō system and the era of dictatorships needed to end, and while Hiashi worked behind the scenes to realign the political arena in favor of a revolution, Naruto would inspire the masses to make the revolution happen.

The old Hyūga Hiashi would have laughed it off as pointless drivel before pummeling Uzumaki Naruto into the ground.

_This_ Hyūga Hiashi knew Uzumaki Naruto just might have enough charisma to pull it off, and had wholly bought into the plan. _This_ Hyūga Hiashi had absolute confidence in Naruto.

But _this_ Hyūga Hiashi also knew the real reason why Naruto had gone back in time, rather than work with the conditions which could have made his plan work in the future. Yes, part of his motivation was revenge, and that was a necessary evil given everything they'd learned. But the primary force driving Naruto into the past, the very reason he continued to live and not merely function as a biological unit, was sleeping in this bedroom right now.

But apparently she wouldn't be asleep much longer. Judging by the moans of "Naruto-kun" coming from Hinata's mouth, her dream was too intense to handle. Hopefully she wouldn't be too out of it to hear what his heart needed to say.

"Would you like me to retrieve Naruto-san and bring him to you?" Hiashi prodded.

"Hai, Otōsama," Hinata answered. Then, realizing what she just heard and said, her eyes shot open and she abruptly sprang up. "O-o-otō-sama? W-w-what are y-you doing h-h-here?"

"Is a father not allowed to spend time with his daughter?" Hiashi said. Hinata was unable to answer, so he continued: "As I was saying, if you would like me to bring Naruto-san here for you, it'd be no trouble. Actually, I'm certain he would love to see you right now."

Hinata had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. She yelped softly. This couldn't actually be happening. Her father couldn't actually be in her room, telling her that Naruto-kun wanted to see her and that he was willing to make it happen.

Hinata, in an uncharacteristic act, activated her Byakugan, trying to expose the impostor in her room.

To say she was mortified when she discovered it was the real Hiashi and not a genjutsu or a Henge would have been the biggest understatement of the year.

_Naruto-kun _wants_ to see me?_ Hinata asked herself. _How can this not be a dream?_ Having no knowledge of the future Naruto and Hiashi hailed from, Hinata still believed Naruto was hopelessly crushing on Haruno Sakura and would never want to see her, much less notice her. Hinata was very suspicious of Hiashi, and kept her Byakugan focused on him.

Knowing what his eldest was thinking, Hiashi said, "Naruto-san may not know you that well, but he still wants to be close to you, even if he's had problems approaching you. When he found out about the way you were being treated here some time ago, he immediately confronted me about it." The second half was a lie; Naruto had confronted Hiashi in the future, but only after Naruto carried out the Hyūga Clan Massacre, and the confrontation was not over Hinata—at least, not solely. "While the confrontation was painful for him, he made me realize just how pathetic I've been ever since your mother died. It has taken me some time to come to grips with his actions, but I owe him a great debt for opening my eyes to the suffering I put you through." Hinata gasped. Was her father trying to apologize to her for everything he'd done?

"Otōsama..."

"I offer no excuse for driving you away from me, for belittling you each time you failed to meet our clan's expectations, for casting you aside like the worthless trash I am. I will not ask for your forgiveness, as I do not deserve it. But," here he paused to compose himself and drop down on his knees, causing Hinata to gasp again, "I am asking for a chance to start over and be the father I should have been all along. Will you give me that chance, _my precious daughter?"_

Hinata couldn't believe it, even though her Byakugan couldn't detect any signs of insincerity. Her father really had just asked for a chance to redeem himself and amend the mistakes he'd made as a father, and was willing to help bring her and Naruto-kun together. He'd even chosen to _kneel_ in front of her, showing genuine humility. The scene in front of her was so extraordinary and extraordinarily heart-warming, she couldn't help but shed tears.

"Otōsama, please get up," Hinata said, struggling to not give in to her overwhelming emotions yet. "Everything you just said...you'll f-forgive me if I have trouble believing it, yes?"

"Of course, my dear," Hiashi said, rising to his feet.

"You don't k-know how much I've wanted your acknowledgement, Otōsama...to en-encourage me to keep trying when I failed, to h-hear you say that you w-were p-p-proud of me if I-I, if I su-succeeded…" Hinata paused to wipe away her tears and take a couple of deep, calming breaths, "You have a lot of work to do to prove this is r-real, Otōsama, to p-prove you've changed."

"I know, and I will." Hiashi drew Hinata into a tight hug, and they both gave in and started crying. "I'm sorry for what I've done, Hinata. I promise I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you, if you'll allow me that chance."

The two lost track of time as they held each other, letting out all their pent-up emotions at once. Eventually they managed to separate, but when they did, Hinata realized she couldn't go back to sleep. Or at least, she didn't want to.

"Otōsama," Hinata said, "w-when you said you would bring N-Naruto-kun here…"

"Do you still want me to do so?" Hiashi asked. Hinata finally lost it and started panicking.

"W-W-What are y-you th-th-thinking, Otōsama? You c-c-can't bring him here!" she insisted, not quite yelling, but only because she just wasn't a loud person by nature.

"I have personal business with him that requires he visit the compound. If, after he and I are done talking, he is still here, would you be willing to see him?" Hiashi couldn't let Hinata know that seeing her _is_ the personal business he had with Naruto, lest she faint and push the inevitable reunion to a more dangerous hour in the process.

"I-I...I..."

Hiashi sighed at her stuttering. At least she hadn't quite gone into full meltdown. "Just try not to be unconscious when he arrives."

Hinata didn't try to answer that with words and settled for a nod. Reluctantly, she laid back down, but couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was racing too quickly, trying to avoid emotional overload from the realization that _Naruto-kun was coming here._

_Well, it's a promising start, at least,_ Hiashi thought as he left Hinata's room. On his way out, he was stopped by one of the maids in the Cadet Branch making her late night rounds across the clan compound.

"Hiashi-sama?" the auburn-haired Cadet Branch maid questioned, wondering why Hiashi was awake, his eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks and robes were moist with tears.

"How long do you need to stay awake?" Hiashi replied.

"My evening rounds won't be finished until 0800 hours, sir. What do you require of me?"

"Only a small favor. I will need you to send Tokuma-san on an errand for me. Instruct Tokuma-san to find Uzumaki Naruto-san and let him know I wish to meet with him at a private location this weekend. Also instruct him to bring Uzumaki-san here from wherever he's currently training, if possible."

"Very good, Hiashi-sama. The task will be completed to your satisfaction, sir."

_Amazing,_ Hiashi thought. _She didn't question why I wish to see Naruto._ Most others in the clan would have protested to no small degree. Hiashi was about to dismiss the Cadet Branch maid before another thought came to him. If he was going to win over the side branch and heal his clan, he needed to get to know them better, and gauging the maid's reaction to his request, she seemed like the best person to start with. "My apologies, miss, but I can't seem to remember your name. Would you be kind enough to jog my memory for me, please?" The maid gasped. Was Hiashi actually being polite to her? Did something happen recently to cause him to change? His one question was making her doubt everything she knew about the clan patriarch.

"It's Hisoka, sir," she hesitantly replied.

"Hisoka-san, what are your honest thoughts towards the Hyūga Main Branch? Please do not fear punishment. As long as your answer is completely honest, I will not allow you to be punished." Hisoka gasped again. There was no way this could actually be Hiashi. Surprisingly, when she made a hand seal to activate her Byakugan, he made no move to stop her.

What in the world was going on?

After confirming that it was in fact Hiashi addressing her, Hisoka relaxed. "I...I hate most of the Main Branch, Hiashi-sama. They abuse their power over us. Their children are little different from them. Actually, I'd say most of the younger Main Branch members are somewhat worse than the elders, sir."

"I see." It was a confirmation. Hiashi had observed increased discontent among Cadet Branch members in the future. With the murders of his daughters and the absence of Naruto from Konoha, several Main Branch Hyūga had started showing increasing disdain for their underlings and servants, reverting back to the days before the Oto-Suna Invasion. It was a total disaster. By the time Naruto returned, the situation had required extreme prejudice in its handling. Under orders from Kakashi, the Hero of Konoha had been forced to kill nearly one-third of the Cadet Branch and almost the entire Main Branch to stop a full-scale internal war from breaking out and completely destroying the clan, a war which would have crippled Konoha were it to happen.

This time, Hiashi would destroy the core of the problem well before his clan could revisit the brink of self-destruction. A Hyūga Clan Massacre was very high on the list of things he would _not_ allow to happen in his lifetime.

"And what do you think about my eldest daughter, Hinata?" Hiashi continued.

"I...can't give you an honest answer, sir," Hisoka said, almost stammering in her reply. "We've been taught to hate her for her weakness, for everything about her that doesn't conform to their image of the clan. They believe she will destroy the clan if she is allowed the chance."

Hiashi was incensed, but not at Hisoka. "The arrogance and greed of the elders, if not dealt with, will destroy the clan more completely than Hinata ever could," he spat. "I am not ignorant of the rift between our two houses. If nothing is done to close that rift, the Cadet Branch will eventually revolt against the Main. The result of that rebellion will be nothing short of catastrophic, both to the clan and to Konoha. You have my word that from this day forward, I will do everything in my power to heal and unite the clan before it tears itself and our village apart."

Hisoka was in awe. Her Byakugan was still active and had not detected even a single trace of deceit in the Hyūga head's words. When did this change in him happen? "Hiashi-sama..."

"Hisoka-san, would you like to become my personal attendant?" The question further shocked Hisoka. Hiashi-sama had just offered her complete protection from the elders. Yes, it also resigned her to further slavery, but she would answer only to Hiashi-sama, if she accepted his offer. And she could feel it in her heart, that Hiashi-sama would not bow to the will of the elders any longer. A spark of defiance was clearly seen in his eyes, and it was...inspiring to her, for lack of knowledge of a better word.

Hisoka's decision was predetermined. "I would be greatly honored to serve you in your quest to save our clan, Hiashi-sama."

Her final shock of the early morning was seeing Hiashi smile as he dismissed her.

* * *

_Naruto's Apartment_

Naruto groaned as he crawled out of bed. He was extremely tired and his headache was worse than any he'd had for years, confirming that the Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu worked and he had returned to the past. He didn't need to look in a mirror for added confirmation; he was already feeling disorientation caused by turning back the clock fifteen years and adjusting to his smaller body. It sucked being short again. He also wasn't sure how he felt about losing the physical scars he'd accumulated, the tangible proof of his many failures, though he admitted to himself it was a relief not having to keep his right arm wrapped up in bandages anymore.

The first thing he would have to do is get re-accustomed to the strain his older body had frequently endured. It would not be an easy task at all, and would put his health at great risk every time he trained despite his Uzumaki bloodline's powerful life force, but it had to be done. Every limit Naruto had ever had needed to be broken, and fast, if he was to have any hope of achieving his ambitions.

Ambitions...that was a weird way to put it, since saying that out loud would make him sound too much like Sasuke, but it was accurate enough. Becoming Hokage, changing the world, these things were no longer dreams. Naruto had made his first dream happen for one night before pressing the reset button on the timeline, and he would make it happen again, after all opposition was eliminated and his revolution succeeded in uniting the Elemental Nations.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked around the apartment he remembered being given by the Sandaime. Contrary to what Naruto-haters (of which there were once again many) might have assumed, the apartment was actually in good shape, minus the messes he'd left around because he'd never had anyone to teach him why it was important to do his daily chores.

Scratch that, the first thing he'd have to do is clean up this damned apartment, _then_ get re-accustomed to the physical disadvantages of being twelve again and train to compensate for them, and become stronger than he'd ever been.

Clumsily dodging the empty ramen bowls and chopsticks scattered around his room, Naruto walked over to his window and opened the curtains, and groaned. The sky was still dark. Kurama had seen fit to deprive him of sleep.

_Kurama brought us back a few hours earlier than I would've preferred,_ Naruto complained to himself as he changed into his orange tracksuit before conjuring two Kage Bunshin to assist with his chores. His bijū still heard the complaint.

**_"Be grateful that I did, gaki,"_** Kurama said through their telepathic link. So, even though the seal was back to its original condition, the link was still intact and could be turned on and off at will. That was the first piece of good news Naruto received today. **_"If your memory is correct, you'll still have four hours before you have to leave to take the graduation exam. Make use of that extra time and get in as much training as you can."_**

_"Well, I already figured out _why_ you chose such an ungodly hour to return to. That doesn't mean I can't be at least a little upset about your sleep-robbing."_

Kurama was quickly annoyed by Naruto. **_"While I suppose you have to practice this childish behavior again to regain proficiency in the art of playing the idiot, I would much appreciate it if you could remain mature while conversing with me. I will not tolerate any genuine slips into your pathetic former self."_**

_"Alright, alright! Do you still think I'm that stupid?"_

**_"It is a question worth asking."_**

_"I salute you with my middle finger,"_ Naruto shot back, sending Kurama a mental image of him flipping the bird.

**_"Did you truly change at all during the war?"_** Kurama taunted, returning the image of Naruto flipping him off with one of it doing the same. **_"Or was your misery the true mask?"_**

_"Don't you fucking dare go there, Kyūbi,"_ Naruto warned. The dangerous tone in Naruto's voice actually made Kurama shiver in fear and think twice about egging on its container.

**_"Noted. In the meantime, I suggest hightailing it to Training Ground 26, the farthest ground from Konoha and the only one that is used less often than the Forest of Death. I estimate that you'll have to use two hundred Kage Bunshin to practice chakra control and get it to an adequate level to compensate for the loss of your Six Paths chakra and the current status of my seal. I would prefer it if you could actually perform the Bunshin no Jutsu correctly this time around."_**

_"How much would that change?"_ Naruto wondered as his clones finished picking up the dirty dishes and laundry and moved on to making the bed. Cleaning up was turning out to be much easier than he first thought. _"If I actually pass the test, Mizuki might not try to trick me into stealing the Scroll of Forbidden Seals again, and I wouldn't have a reasonable explanation for how I can perform Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_

**_"If that happens, have Kakashi vouch for you, once Ino restores his memories. Also make sure that he utilizes the memory transfer aspect of Kage Bunshin in his own training this time around."_**

_"Eh, I suppose that might work. I still think it'd be easier to just steal the scroll again, but then again, I might have problems convincing Sandaime I was manipulated by Mizuki and I doubt he'd believe I did it because I found out Mizuki was a traitor but did what he asked me to anyway to expose his treachery."_

**_"Yes, I've already noticed that you will have problems maintaining your old attitude from before we helped fuck up the original timeline. The more observant characters of Konoha will see in your eyes what no amount of acting can hide. While I cannot blame you, knowing what you suffered, these difficulties will pose a serious risk to our plans. I would give it a week at most before some of your friends, as well as our enemies, start growing suspicious."_**

_"Man, Kurama, you're not letting up at all, are ya?"_

Kurama continued as though Naruto hadn't spoken: **_"You know this already, but Danzō is the one you must watch out for the most. He is thoroughly entrenched in the shadows of Konoha and he WILL notice something about you is off. Once he becomes aware that you're not who you're supposed to be, he may try to capture and conscript you into the Foundation. Without access to my full power, you have no hope of taking him down early, and may have to rely on Jiraiya and Tsunade in your endeavor."_**

_"That's not an option. Unless we can prove them innocent, we have to assume that Ero-sennin and Tsunade-bāchan are guilty."_ Naruto looked around his bedroom to make sure he and his clones had cleaned up everything. Time to move on to the kitchen. _"At least, I'm pretty certain Ero-sennin is guilty,"_ he continued in a more somber tone. _"He would have been involved in my life a lot sooner if he wasn't involved in the Sandaime's cluster-fuck of a plan. But we don't have a damn clue about how involved he is or isn't."_ Kurama acknowledged Naruto's suspicion and his reasons, and chose to leave it at that for now. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single mention of Jiraiya in _Sandaime Hokage's Failures_ at all. Not knowing whose side the closest thing Naruto ever had to a father was on was gravely concerning. Even worse, there was absolutely no way to discover the self-proclaimed Super Pervert's true allegiance until the Chūnin Selection Exams brought him back to Konoha and put him within Ino's mind-fucking range. So for now, Naruto had to assume Ero-sennin was in on the conspiracy.

The reliance Naruto had on Ino in this grand scheme of his was also troubling. Naruto hated to admit it, but Ino was currently the most valuable member of his inner circle, arguably more valuable than Naruto himself, at least until he acquired the key to unlock the seal again. Naruto would be heavily reliant on her mental ninjutsu to weed out any possible conspirators who weren't mentioned in the Sandaime's black book. He absolutely couldn't afford for her to be discovered. Unlike him, Ino didn't have enough power to defend herself if she was compromised.

"Alright, the rest of the chores can wait until after the Academy," Naruto announced to his clones. "For now, we need to make sure the bastard Sandaime can't spy on us at will. You," he pointed at one clone, "should use Tōton Jutsu to sneak into Hokage Mansion and use Raiton to disable the Sandaime's crystal ball."

"Aye aye, cap'n!" clone number one replied, mock saluting. The original rolled his eyes as his clone vanished from both his sight and sensory range before opening the front door and leaving towards his destination. Right then, Naruto noticed he had a major problem: his sensory abilities had _greatly_ diminished with the loss of Sage Mode and Negative Emotions Sensing. Knowing that he had lost most of his sensing, if he couldn't detect his own clone, how would he be able to accurately judge their stealth ability and make sure no one else could detect them?

"And you," Naruto addressed the other clone, "I need you to go to Sakura-nēchan's place and get about two weeks' worth of soldier pills and sealing supplies with her. I'm gonna send another clone to Suna and try to befriend Gaara before the Chūnin Exams begin. And trust me, Sakura's awake. Inner will make sure of it."

"Good luck with that!" clone number two said, closing the apartment door behind him. Naruto sighed. He made a mental note to create a fūin kekkai (sealing barrier) that would keep unwanted visitors out later.

**_"Impressive foresight,"_** Kurama commented after the second clone left to carry out his task.

_"Why thank you, Kurama,"_ Naruto replied, sending his partner turned prisoner an image of a mock bow. _"Now how do we deal with Neji before the Chūnin Exams?"_

Kurama's face met the sewer floor in a loud crash. The overgrown kitsune was utterly stupefied. **_"Why in the nine circles of hell are you asking me that?"_**

_"I don't have Negative Emotions Sensing anymore! I can't know if it's possible to get rid of his hatred towards Hinata without a fight, and I'd really rather not risk any of the Hyūga aside from Hiashi-sama and Hinata finding out I'm stronger than I'm supposed to be. Also, if I somehow get lured into a close quarters or taijutsu-only match against him before I've rebuilt myself, I'm probably screwed, even with your chakra negating most of his Jūken."_

Kurama conceded the point, but added, **_"There are other ways to crush Neji's arrogance and free him of his hatred and wretched enslavement to fate. But you are right to have this concern. Your infamous way with words won't work on him on its own, so you will need some show of force to back it up. He is similar to Uzumaki Nagato and Uchiha Obito in that regard."_** Naruto nodded; he already agreed it would come to a fight before he could convince the leaders of Akatsuki to change their ways again. He really didn't want that to hold true for Hyūga Neji as well.

"Looks like it's time to get to training," Naruto said aloud. "Maybe it'll help me sleep better tonight."

Kurama snickered at its jailor's misfortune. It couldn't help but deliver a parting shot after hearing that: **_"Oh, and Naruto?"_**

_"Yes, Kurama?"_

**_"You really should be more grateful that I kept you awake. You would have revisited _****that_ nightmare again if I'd let you sleep."_** Naruto shivered after hearing that last remark. He had no will to _ever_ experience the nightmare Kurama was talking about again.

* * *

_Haruno Residence_

Haruno Sakura was furious with herself. She'd known there would be personal complications with her involvement (or potential lack thereof) in Uzumaki Naruto's plan, but she'd failed to anticipate they would already be _this_ bad. Not even five minutes after arriving in the past, Inner Sakura had seen fit to start a major argument with her, and she guessed the delay was only because Inner decided to play a very discriminatory game of catch-up with Sakura's memories.

Inner was a total enigma, even to its creator. Its personality was more or less an amplification of the most intense parts of Sakura's character. Her _old_ character, that is, since Inner had, at some point during Sakura's apprenticeship to Tsunade-shishō, simply vanished, and she didn't know why. But going back in time had reset her entire physical and mental condition, and that included bringing back Inner.

Sakura sighed. Inner might have been a fascinating construct to study, if not for the fact she was the one stuck with it.

Nonetheless, there were three very important questions about Inner which needed to be answered quickly:

One, just what the hell was her Inner persona?

Two, when and how did it disappear the first time? Did it require Sakura to address her insecurities, or was it something else that dismissed the construct?

And three, was it for the best that it disappeared, or was there a way to make it useful?

"Useful? I sure don't feel very fucking useful right now," Sakura remarked after listing off the third question. Inner was giving her a serious migraine headache and was making it difficult for her to think of anything other than how to get Inner to shut the hell up, especially about the abomination which, the first time around, Sakura had called "her precious Sasuke-kun". Sakura knew that thrice damned Uchiha was _not_ precious and she was dreading the chance that she might be forced to keep up the appearance of her old self, her thoroughly disgusting, hopelessly obsessed with sexing up Sasuke self.

At least she would not waste most of her time pursuing him to no end. Uchiha Sasuke was dead to Haruno Sakura, emotionally speaking, though if Naruto couldn't figure out how to stop Sasuke from turning evil again, Sakura insisted on being the one who turned him to ashes this time. That is, if Ino-pig didn't break rank and destroy his mind the moment she arrived in the Academy.

Sakura sighed deeply. Thinking about how to deal with the Last Loyal Uchiha had brought up depressing thoughts about her nonexistent love life in the future. She had focused so completely on claiming Sasuke as hers that she had destroyed any interest anyone else might have had in her as a possible girlfriend, or even as just a one-night stand. Had that future continued, she, just like her otōto, would have been forever alone. It was yet another debt she owed Naruto, another debt she could never repay.

But who could she possibly hook up with among the Konoha 12? Ironically, Naruto himself would have been the best option, but there was simply too much history between them to start over. Besides, she liked having the blond blockhead as a brother, and even if they weren't family in all but blood, Naruto's heart belonged to Hinata, and _only_ Hinata, and Sakura would be truly damned if she let anyone take the Hyūga Princess away from her otōto again.

The other guys didn't even compare to Naruto, and each had their issues which made pursuing a relationship problematic. Rock Lee...Sakura shivered at the prospect of him crushing on her again. Lee was more annoying and persistent than Naruto had ever been, and far too energetic. Not to mention he was practically married to his training. How the hell Tenten got him to settle down was something even Ino-pig couldn't figure out, and Ino was married to the only man in their age group who was an even bigger piece of work. Sakura would have to shoot Lee down completely, quickly, before his obsession got out of hand. Chōji? Sakura wasn't superficial anymore, but the Akimichi deserved someone better than her. Shikamaru? Wrong answer again; the lazy genius belonged to Temari, period. Kiba? Far too brash, wild and arrogant, plus Sakura had entertained the idea he might be gay or at least have bi-sexual inclinations, thanks to the Alpha mentality of his mother and sister. Shino? Already married as well; and it would not surprise Sakura if Shino's marriage had been arranged while he was still in the Academy. And Neji? He was more or less a combination of several of the worst traits of Kiba and Shino; and besides, Hiashi-sama wouldn't approve of her starting a courtship with his nephew despite her value as a medic. Hiashi would likely try to get Karin into the Hyūga clan through Neji, if an opportunity presented itself quickly enough.

Sakura sighed. She would have to look outside of Konoha's walls to find love.

**_"Or you could impress Sasuke-kun with the skills you learned in the future,"_** Inner said. Sakura decked her over that.

_"For the last fucking time, bitch, I am NOT going to pursue Uchiha-san anymore!"_ Sakura yelled with fury. She was about to start ripping her hair out. _"Now be a good figment of my imagination and SHUT UP! Shānnarō!"_

**_"Why? He hasn't done any of those things!"_**

_"Keyword you deliberately forgot to add is 'yet,' Inner, and the fact remains, no matter how much you want to deny it, he DID do them once before. I'm not about to forgive him, not now, not ever. And have you seen the memories of the war yet, or are you deliberately choosing to ignore all the worst moments of our pathetic life? If you haven't, I suggest looking at the one where he stabbed me in the heart inside a genjutsu."_

Remarkably, that actually got Inner to shut up and think about what Sakura just said. The dominant persona had been acting far out of character, and Inner hadn't cared why that was so; it just wanted to rectify the issue it perceived. But like the old Sakura, Inner was almost incapable of recognizing that it was the one in need of an attitude adjustment.

Sakura, for her part, was even more disgusted with her old self after bringing up the memory of the genjutsu. Whatever bonds she and Sasuke shared in that future, he'd thoroughly broken them all. She could never even look at him again unless forced to.

"Having Inner problems, nēchan?" a muffled but familiar voice said from outside Sakura's bedroom window, tearing her away from her reverie. Sakura lifted up her window to reveal her favorite blond.

"What are you doing here, Naruto-baka?" Sakura hissed, pulling her blankets over her to hide her pink pajamas.

"The boss needs your help." Of course it had to be a Kage Bunshin! But Sakura knew it had to be important for Naruto to send a Kage Bunshin her way at this hour. "He needs soldier pills and sealing supplies, and no, it can't wait. He can't send another clone to Suna once he passes the exams today."

So Sakura knew now it was about Gaara. Yep, that was very important, indeed. "Alright, hold on for a few while I get dressed." Naruto's clone nodded and turned around while Sakura closed the window and her curtain. Another advantage to having the resident knucklehead as her surrogate brother: he wouldn't be tempted to take a peek at her naked.

"Okay, I'm ready," Sakura announced two minutes later. She opened her window and climbed out, donning her favorite red qipao dress along with dark green shorts and black sandals. "I do know of one place that's still open this late, but it normally only caters to upper-class or wealthy civilian families unless the customer has an unusual mission."

"And your parents are allowed to shop there, right?"

"Would I mention the place if they weren't, baka?"

The clone rolled his eyes at the insult. He knew Sakura-nēchan only said it out of habit and it was her main way of showing affection towards her otōto, but he wished she didn't have to stay in character so much. "Well, what are we waiting for, Sakura-nēchan? Let's go!" Both of them hopped down onto the street; however, before they could start walking towards their destination, they noticed a flash of light coming from the direction of the Academy and Hokage Mansion.

"Oh, Cloneruto," Sakura said a little too sweetly, "would you care to explain what the hell you just did to the Hokage's office?"

Cloneruto, as he was now referred to, shrugged. "Boss doesn't like being spied on."

"So he sent another clone to destroy the infamous crystal ball?" The clone nodded. Sakura's mood took a sharp turn and she started laughing. "You are in so much trouble, otōto."

"It had to be done. We can't afford prying eyes." Another shrug from the clone. He was completely focused on his task and was currently incapable of humor. "Now that that's taken care of, can you please tell me where that shop you mentioned is?"

"Uh, sure, but there's no way you're walking in there as yourself."

"Of course there isn't." The clone rolled his eyes. "Kōdo Henge!" he yelled, transforming into a perfect replica of her mother, Haruno Mebuki. Sakura was struggling to not hit her surrogate brother's clone.

"Too soon," Sakura muttered.

"We're not _walking_ there, nēchan," Cloneruto-as-Mebuki pointed out.

"You're really going to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu out in the open?"

"No, I was going to just do a basic Shunshin no Jutsu. But even if I did use Hiraishin, who's gonna notice this late at night?"

"Hmm…" Sakura dramatically adopted a thinking pose. Cloneruto didn't like the sound of her voice. Personal experience tried to tell him that Sakura trying to think of a bright idea...wasn't such a bright idea. "Why don't you drop the Henge and just follow me to Ino's house for now? That way, we can also try to figure out what we're going to do about the exams?"

Okay, maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. The clone nodded his approval and did what was requested of him, returning to his normal appearance before using Shunshin to arrive at the Yamanaka Flower Shop with his creator's surrogate sister.

* * *

_Training Ground 26_

For someone who was supposed to be the embodiment of light in this world, Naruto strangely had very little problem operating in the darkness. Then again, it should have been expected. In his future, Uzumaki Naruto had been labeled the Hero of Konoha, the Child of Prophecy, the Savior of this World, and ultimately, for a single night, was the Nanadaime Hokage. He had got there primarily through perseverance and his famous way with words, convincing a majority of enemies to either switch sides or atone for their sins with an act of self-sacrifice. Doing so to the degree he had basically mandated spending a large portion of his life wandering through shadows, without succumbing to them. If someone in the future had been asked what Naruto's most powerful jutsu was, the 'Talk no Jutsu' would have been their most likely answer.

Naruto actually wasn't sure yet how his reliance on putting his enemies through therapy in his effort to rewrite history would compare to the original timeline. He had learned the hard way that even with all the power in the world to back up his words, some sentient beings simply couldn't undergo a change of heart, once they'd fallen a certain distance into the darkness. Some people just needed to die. And it had taken _her_ death to make him realize this painful fact.

But there were still a lot of enemies Naruto wanted to convert to his side this time around that he hadn't had the chance to before. Zabuza and Haku took priority; he'd considered them friends despite the fact they'd been on the wrong side of the battlefield, and even now, he owed his nindō to what they taught him in the brief time he knew them. Naruto would not let them die this time.

Doing one last check of his surroundings, Naruto began to assess his physical situation. He needed to train his body rapidly, and needed to focus on speed, since he already had more stamina than almost all of his peers. His Uzumaki bloodline and jinchūriki status compensated for his current lack of physical strength, boosting his healing factor off the charts and giving him an enormous amount of chakra to use on high-level ninjutsu such as his trademark Kage Bunshin, which was by far the most effective force multiplier known to the shinobi world, albeit one only he could use to its fullest extent. Speed was paramount for this reason; the faster he could move, the easier it was to avoid enemy attacks, allowing him to last longer and deal more damage in battle.

Normally, he would have sought out Maito Gai immediately, but he realized the attempt would be problematic, in more ways than one. While Naruto was certain that everyone in Team Nine was on his side, or would be soon enough, the possibility that Gai-sensei and Neji could be used as pawns against him couldn't be dismissed. Thankfully, he had alternative approaches. One, Naruto could just ask Kakashi-sensei to consult Gai-sensei; this would throw off suspicion, as having Kakashi ask for the training regiment would be seen by the Sandaime as an effort to further Sasuke's training. Or two, he could fall back on his knowledge of fūinjutsu; Naruto knew how to make gravity seals and had also figured out how to apply them to opponents in the middle of combat. And Naruto would be the first to tell you that putting your enemies under the strain of twenty times Earth's normal gravity was not a pretty way for them to die.

Naruto hopped off that train of thought quickly. He was here for chakra control, not body building or killing people. He tried forming a Rasengan in his right hand, only to find he couldn't get it to stabilize. Naruto cursed under his breath, then tried again, this time using his left hand to help mold and shape the chakra. And again, it wouldn't form correctly.

"Craptastic," Naruto muttered. "I'm back to needing a damn clone for my dad's move, at least for now." He growled as he created two hundred clones via a sealless Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu—why the hell was he still able to do Kage Bunshin without hand seals, but reverted to needing a damned Kage Bunshin to stabilize the Rasengan?—and had them start running up and down the nearest tree or on the river that flowed through the training grounds. "Kurama wasn't kidding when he said I needed to reestablish adequate chakra control." It wasn't a terribly daunting task, though. All he needed to do was discover how much forfeiting the Six Paths chakra and the restoration of the Hakke no Fūin Shiki had affected his equilibrium. He already knew all the chakra control exercises he needed, and would have that issue resolved to the best of his ability by the end of the day.

The sensing issue, however, would remain a thorn in his side for a while. Without his two greatest detection tools, Naruto couldn't sense the onlooker who was closing in on him.

From a rapidly decreasing distance, Hyūga Tokuma was observing the blond Uzumaki in the training grounds. His Byakugan, stronger than any other in the clan, allowed him the ability to see Naruto's chakra network and expenditures in exquisite detail even from several hundred meters away, and what he saw caused him to tremble as he continued his approach.

Uzumaki Naruto was utilizing several of the advanced chakra control exercises only available after graduating from the academy and being accepted as a ninja, simultaneously, through an extraordinary number of Kage Bunshin. No Hyūga who ever lived had ever been able to make more than two Kage Bunshin, and even the Hokage was currently incapable of producing more than ten. But Naruto had spawned _two hundred_, and Tokuma could tell that the exercises they were practicing were the only reason there were two hundred and not two _thousand._ The exercises also proved to Tokuma that Naruto knew about the memory transfer aspect of Kage Bunshin. Naruto had the ability to compress decades of training into a single month, and that alone was enough to raise Tokuma's suspicions of the child.

The exercises Naruto was spamming were even more astonishing than his capacity to create that many Kage Bunshin. One group of twenty was running up and down trees; a second group was sparring on top of the river, practicing a taijutsu style Tokuma had never observed before; two more groups were harnessing Kaze (Wind) and Kaminari (Lightning) chakra; and—Tokuma gasped when he saw this—a fifth group was busy trying to stabilize and perfect control over the Rasengan, a technique created by the Yondaime Hokage.

Tokuma knew right away this was not the same Naruto who was dead last in the Academy. He knew Naruto did not possess any of the technique knowledge he currently displayed prior to this morning. And he knew there was no way the knowledge could have been granted to him. His eyes also ruled out the possibility of an impostor masquerading as Naruto.

For now, though, he continued to observe. It was easily possible that he was mistaken to rule out one of those scenarios, aside from the impostor bit. No technique existed that could successfully clone a human, and even then, a biological Naruto clone used to replace Naruto would not have the Hakke no Fūin Shiki to make him indistinguishable from the original.

Tokuma observed a chakra expenditure that seemed to be pointless. Then, a few seconds later, he gasped again when Naruto revealed a kunai which appeared to have a seal formula carved into the blade, tossed it fifty meters away...and then reappeared in a yellow flash at the kunai before it fell to the ground or made contact with anything else. Tokuma was frozen at the sight. Naruto had just used the Hiraishin no Jutsu!

That settled it in his mind. Hyūga Tokuma concluded that Uzumaki Naruto was a time traveler.

And that meant there was no way to predict the things of which he might be capable, but hasn't yet revealed.

As Tokuma continued his approach, he noticed the original starting to twitch involuntarily. That wasn't a good sign. Naruto was starting to panic. While Tokuma was confident he could defeat Naruto with his superior speed, despite the techniques he'd seen Naruto use—most Hyūga were consistently fast, which was required by their Jūken—he would rather avoid a fight if he could. Also, Hiashi-sama would not be pleased if Uzumaki-san was brought to the compound injured.

"If you're about to go meet the boss, then make haste, but do it calmly," Naruto's voice rang out from _behind_ Tokuma. A second later, a Kage Bunshin shimmered into visibility. Tokuma jumped out of his skin for a moment, realizing now what the seemingly pointless chakra expenditure had actually been. On top of everything Naruto had displayed, he could turn himself or any of his clones invisible and render them undetectable by most sensory abilities!

_Who the hell are you, Uzumaki Naruto?_

"O-Of course, Bunshin-san," Tokuma stammered, his calm composure faltering. The formerly invisible Kage Bunshin dispelled and notified Naruto of Tokuma's presence.

Steeling himself, the Hyūga approached the Uzumaki, who was by now expecting him to come out into the open.

"My apologies for interrupting your training, Uzumaki-san, but Hiashi-sama has an important message for you," Tokuma said. He didn't miss Naruto's sigh of relief accompanying a look of recognition. Now wasn't the time to wonder when and how he and Naruto met in the future.

"Tokuma-san," Naruto addressed the elite Hyūga. "I was worried you might be someone I'd have to kill."

Tokuma's left eye twitched. _Naruto and the Hyūga Clan were mortal enemies in the future? _"Should I be relieved to hear that?"

"Make of it what you will. If Hiashi-sama trusts you, I guess I can try to as well." Though Naruto knew Tokuma now knew what he was, he couldn't bring himself to mention that Tokuma was one of the few Hyūga he'd maintained a friendship with in the future. Still, Naruto knew Tokuma was trustworthy, and recognized that Hiashi's decision to send him here was made deliberately.

"I see. I was sent here to inform you that Hiashi-sama and his eldest daughter wish for you to join them at the compound as soon as you can arrive there." Naruto easily saw the lie in that message; he knew Hinata would never actually make that request in her current mental state. "Hiashi-sama also requests to set up a second meeting with you later this weekend."

Still, Naruto wasn't sure how to react to the message Hiashi delivered through Tokuma. He'd planned on putting off seeing Hinata as long as possible. Truth be told, he was deathly afraid of approaching her, due to all the regrets he'd accumulated in the future after her demise. Part of him was fervently arguing against the plan he'd decided on before traveling back in time, using all of his pent-up sorrow to create a new barrier between him and his love.

That part of him also told him it would be safer for her if he kept his distance. That it was necessary to stay away to prevent her from being targeted by his many enemies. Unfortunately, it was a valid argument. Naruto knew exactly who his enemies and most of his potential enemies were this time—and they were far more numerous than they had been the first go-round, since he was going to be opposing the Sandaime's regime along with the Daimyō's. He wouldn't be able to completely conceal his changes in behavior, and didn't have a particularly strong desire to do so anyway. Sooner or later, Naruto's enemies would act on their suspicions, and the Uzumaki was betting on sooner.

But then how would Naruto be able to ensure Hinata was protected, if he couldn't be by her side? Who could he trust to keep her safe, if his power wasn't great enough to do so himself? And how would he help her become as strong as she needed to be to survive the coming storm, if he could not be her anchor?

The part of Naruto that was questioning his resolve could not provide satisfactory answers to those questions.

"I'll leave in one hour, Tokuma-san," Naruto said. "In the meantime, could I ask you to help me practice my taijutsu? I've had a few problems with a style I came across a while back and I want to work out all the kinks before my exams start."

Tokuma shook his head. "Hiashi-sama insists you come with me immediately. But I can leave one Kage Bunshin of my own behind to help out your small army of them, if you'd like."

"I guess that works. Just let me dispel all of these clones to recover their chakra and make a new one to take over with the exercises; it'll be easier that way in case something else happens." Naruto would only remember why that was a bad idea right after the mass of clones poofed out of existence. The strain hit him much harder than it had back when he'd first been overcome by the side effects of memory transfer during his wind manipulation training. But he did manage to make the solitary new clone before passing out.

Tokuma chuckled as he bent down to pick up the unconscious Naruto. "How long will Uzumaki-san be out of it?"

"Not that long," the clone replied. "I don't think my prisoner will appreciate the boss taking a snooze on the job." It slightly unnerved Tokuma that Naruto's clone had referred to the Kyūbi so casually around him, but he nodded as though the words had no effect.

_Once I deliver Uzumaki-san to Hiashi-sama, he won't have any other choice but to sleep,_ Tokuma didn't say.

* * *

_Returning to the Compound_

The current advantage to nighttime for Tokuma was that very few people in Konoha were awake, thus he wasn't able to catch flak from civilians for carrying an unconscious Naruto on his back. Well, it's not like it would have fazed him either way, but the Hyūga did have a certain image to uphold, at least for the time being. Hisoka's message to him, passing along Hiashi's orders, hinted at a potential major change in the clan.

After all, what reason could Hiashi-sama have for wanting to speak with the Uzumaki boy? Why would any Hyūga, sans Hinata-sama of course, want to associate with Konoha's social pariah? Tokuma did not question these things aloud—doing so would have risked incurring Hiashi-sama's wrath, even though he held no ill will towards the Uzumaki—but the order given to him by the clan head was profoundly out of character.

Tokuma arrived at the front gates of his clan's compound. The guards on duty glared at him for a second, but froze up due to a blast of killing intent directed at them from the least likely source.

"I see Uzumaki-san's tenant has pushed him a little too far this morning," Hiashi observed, focusing his gaze on the unconscious blond on Tokuma's back.

"His current state is probably your fault too, Hiashi-sama," Tokuma said. "He was panicking at first when he sensed that I located him."

"The boy is not what he seems." It was not a question.

Tokuma replied as though it were: "I saw him make two hundred Kage Bunshin at once and utilize them in his training with great efficiency, sir. I also observed with my Byakugan that he probably could have made two thousand if he'd wanted. Uzumaki-san's potential exceeds that of everyone else in Konoha, without question. May the kami show pity on anyone who incurs his wrath."

_You have no idea how right you are,_ Hiashi didn't say. His musing was cut short by a groan coming from the boy who they were talking about.

"Ugh...remind me to never dispel that many clones at once again," Naruto groaned as he hopped off Tokuma's back and rubbed his temples. "My head feels like I drank a small lake's worth of saké."

"I cannot sympathize with you there, Naruto-san," Hiashi said. "However, if you're capable of following me at this time, I can offer you the best remedy the kami will ever allow a mere mortal to receive."

"You do realize that sounded like a _very_ poorly worded request for me to marry Hinata," Naruto remarked. Hiashi, Tokuma and even the guards chuckled at that one.

"Indeed. But you do not appear to be opposed to that possibility. Now follow me. I cannot allow those who are awake at this hour to get the wrong idea by seeing you alone inside the compound." Naruto nodded, but stopped briefly, eyes widening. His first clone had apparently discovered a very interesting piece of information prior to dispelling.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-san?" Hiashi queried.

"I don't know. It's possible. But I don't think your concerns are warranted." Hiashi frowned at Naruto's slip into Hokage Mode. That was the last thing his compatriot needed to do in an area with hundreds of pairs of prying eyes, especially when said eyes had the reputation of being all-seeing. Even if none of those eyes were able to focus their gaze on him at the moment.

"At least try to act a little more like your old self," the clan patriarch advised the social pariah. "We've all become jaded, Naruto-san, but you must maintain your façade while not in a secure location, at least for the next six months. That's the minimum length of time we'll require to save Konoha from the sins of the generation in power."

Naruto scoffed. "I find it hilarious in an awful way that you're chastising my behavior and discussing The Plan at the same time, considering where we are."

"I've already confirmed that aside from us, Tokuma-san and the guards, the only souls awake are Hinata and a few of the Cadet Branch servants, and none of them are listening in on us. The compound is safe, if only for this morning." Hiashi shrugged. He was starting to grow weary of this conversation. "It might take some time to secure a new meeting place. Perhaps it would be best to have Ino use her telepathy for future conferences."

"Agreed." Naruto paused. "But six months may be way too long for us. If Kurama's right, Hiashi-sama, some of them will come after us within one, maybe two weeks, no matter how well we conceal ourselves behind our masks." Hiashi knew the "some of them" Naruto was talking about was ROOT. "The best I can do is keep the target on my back."

"Were we dealing with any other threat, I would leave you lying in the dirt and then criticize you for attempting to carry the burden alone. The very reason we are here discussing this together is because we cannot afford to stand alone. If we fail to maintain a united front, our plan will fail and we will end up creating an even worse future than the one we came from."

The two spent the rest of their walk through the compound in silence. Naruto observed his surroundings with tempered fascination. He'd never been inside the compound, at least not before he nearly killed off the Hyūga Clan, and then he hadn't been able to appreciate the interior design. It amazed him that a clan could adopt such a humble lifestyle and still suffer from almost unparalleled arrogance.

"We're here," Hiashi said, finally stopping on the sixth and top floor, which contained only a single room. It saddened them both to know the real reason why Hinata's bedroom was isolated from the rest of the main building. "If you were any other man, Naruto-san, this would be the time when I would reveal the family sword and promise to make you suffer if you ever hurt my daughter or did something inappropriate with her."

"We've all suffered far too much already," Naruto said. "I'd prefer we left it at that for now."

"Very well. If nothing occurs to disrupt my plans, I will see you again tomorrow." The amount of trust Hiashi put in Naruto was astounding. He did not say another word, nor take any action which could be perceived as a threat. He simply walked away, knowing Naruto was incapable of doing wrong when it came to Hinata.

Naruto hesitantly opened the door to Hinata's bedroom and was surprised. Unlike the rest of the compound, there were some luxuries inside. He had not expected her to have an actual bed or a vanity. Was there some part of Hiashi that remained unbroken, some part of his heart that never hardened?

"Naruto-kun?" The soft question from Hinata made Naruto's heart stop, and his composure almost completely shattered right then. There she was, waiting for him, just like her father said.

Hinata took her time gazing into Naruto's eyes. She'd always been able to see the pain he tried concealing from the rest of the world, and had always wanted to do something to ease that pain and take it away. But her clan and family had left her broken after years of constant mental abuse. Fearing rejection, all Hinata could do was watch, and draw inspiration from his determination, in the hope that one day she could find the courage to talk to him, to earn his acknowledgment, and with it, have the strength to prove herself to him and to her family.

But the pain in her Naruto-kun's eyes was far stronger than she'd ever seen. Stronger than it should have been. Naruto-kun looked like he'd been through hell and back, repeatedly. What could have caused him that much suffering?

And now that he was here, could she free her hero from this pain?

"Hai...it's me, Hinata," Naruto said, his voice anguished and wavering. "Can I sit down on your bed with you?"

"Y-Yes, you m-may." Hinata was surprised at how quickly that came out, despite the stutter. It looked like her shyness would dial itself down a few notches for now.

And that was a good thing. In the next ten seconds, Naruto shocked Hinata twice. First, he chose to sit down right next to her, far too close for comfort. And second, he pulled her into a tight hug...and then completely broke down.

For a few seconds, Hinata's blush flared up, turning her whole head bright red. She was about to faint before she felt teardrops fall down her neck, soaking her lavender pajamas. She gasped, her blush receding. Naruto was trembling, almost like he thought he'd lost her. Hinata had no idea how close to the truth that was.

"Shh," Hinata cooed, rubbing Naruto's back. "It's going to be okay now, Naruto-kun."

"I r-r-really h-h-hope so, Hinata," Naruto cried, gripping her more tightly.

"What...what happened?" She didn't even question where this surge of confidence came from; her only concern was dispelling Naruto's fears.

"A really bad n-n-nightmare...that felt like it lasted for years...Hinata, please don't leave me..." Hinata gasped again. Naruto's words were desperate, saturated with the fear of loss—specifically, of losing _her. _Did Naruto, perhaps, harbor hidden feelings for her too?

"I'm here, Naruto-kun. I'm not going anywhere." By now, she couldn't help but start crying too.

"P-P-Promise?"

"H-Hai, I promise." No more words were needed between them. Hinata locked her arms around Naruto and rocked herself backward, falling onto her bed, crying almost as much as Naruto now. Eventually, they managed to cry themselves to sleep, but neither one of them could ever let go of the other.

In those moments, both of them knew in their hearts that they would always need each other, even if it would take them time to move past all fears and fully embrace this truth.

Somewhere else in the compound, Hiashi turned off his Byakugan and smiled, his eyes moist with unshed tears.

Everything was going according to plan..._for now._

**A/N: ...I had trouble with trying not to shed any tears myself while writing that moment for our favorite couple in Naruto. Which is unusual since I'm an emotionless bastard and don't cry easily.**

Translations for all techniques mentioned/used in Chapters 1-3, plus descriptions of non-canon techniques:

Bunshin no Jutsu: Clone Technique

Chakura Kusari no Jutsu: Chakra Corruption Technique. An S-rank kinjutsu created by Orochimaru and taught to Uchiha Sasuke, this technique literally causes chakra to "rot", interfering with and canceling any technique the victim attempts to use. It can also affect chakra when it's still inside the opponent's body, making them unable to mold chakra by "rotting" their chakra reserves; this will almost always be fatal to the victim if used this way. The technique normally requires making close contact with the target chakra, whether it is in a technique or inside the opponent's body, with one's hand. However, Sasuke was able to use the roots of the Shinju as a medium to corrupt the chakra of hundreds of victims simultaneously.

Chidori: One Thousand Birds

Edo Tensei: Impure World Reincarnation

Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu: Outer Path: Saṃsāra of Heavenly Life Technique

Hakke no Fūin Shiki: Eight Trigrams Sealing Style

Hiraishin no Jutsu: Flying Thunder God Technique

[Tajū] Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: [Multiple] Shadow Clone Technique

Kioku Fukusei no Jutsu: Memory Replication Technique. An extension of the Memory Recall Technique that's used in conjunction with the standard Yamanaka clan arts. This technique takes the Yamanaka mind reading and memory manipulation power to the extreme. When inside or reading a target's mind, Ino has the ability to copy almost all of the target's memories from their entire life and store them within her own mind.

Kioku Sōki no Jutsu: Memory Recall Technique. Yamanaka Ino's most potent ninjutsu, a high A-rank, potentially S-rank technique of her creation that grants her amazing memory capacity and allows her to freely manipulate memories for a multitude of purposes. Ino is able to memorize an opponent's heartbeat, movement patterns and techniques, similar to the Sharingan. She can also create holograms of herself and psychically interfere with and cancel an opponent's technique by "forgetting" the hand seals that were used to cast it.

Kioku Tensō no Jutsu: Memory Transfer Technique. An extension of the Memory Recall Technique that is used in conjunction with the standard Yamanaka clan arts. With just a moment of physical contact, Ino can transfer any memory she has copied to anyone she chooses.

Kōdo Henge: Advanced Transformation. Naruto's version of the basic Henge; his transformations take on actual form due to chakra overload. It usually appears in the form of the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) or one of its variants. (Actually a canon technique, but not given a unique name in canon.)

Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu: Time Alteration Technique. With the full power of the Rikudō Sennin, it is possible to manipulate time itself. The technique can be used to travel either forward or backward in time. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Hagoromo chose to go forward, projecting his spirit across the timestream to manifest himself before Team Seven and the reincarnated former Hokages of Konoha, and is by far the simpler of the two choices. However, Naruto chose to go backward; doing so caused him to actually reverse the flow of time, becoming younger and sacrificing the Rinnegan and Rikudō Senjutsu while maintaining his memories of the future he undid.

Kyūkon no Jutsu: Absorption Soul Technique

Mugen Tsukuyomi: Infinite Moon Reader

Raikiri: Lightning Cutter

Rasengan: Spiraling Sphere

Rikudō no Yō no Chikara: Six Paths Yang Power

Shindenshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Transmission Technique

Shintenshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Switch Technique

Shunshin no Jutsu: Body Flicker Technique

Tōton Jutsu: Transparent Escape Technique

**My apologies for the delay. I currently don't have a computer at my apartment and live five miles away from the nearest public library, so any writing I can get done depends largely on western Washington's weather and how much it interferes with my phone and my ability to walk to said library, as I also lack reliable transportation. It is very possible that delays between chapters over this coming winter and spring could last over a month for this reason. So try to bear with me. Also, certain scenes in this chapter kicked my ass and it's possible I may have to rewrite them later.**

**I am overwhelmed by the attention the Reintroduction Arc has received thus far. Having the attention of well-known writers on FF such as brown phantom and Dread Knight N7 (formerly Dreaded Rasengan) is something I never once thought would happen.**

**To address some concerns of the other reviewers:**

**\- For those who thought Naruto would be limited to shadow clones, Rasengan + variants, Henge, and Summoning, this and the previous chapter show Naruto wielding Hiraishin. Yes, Naruto will use Hiraishin in combat eventually. No, it will not be the only technique Naruto has in _An Uzumaki Scorned_ that he doesn't have in canon. While I've heard arguments in favor of restricting him to his canon moveset, largely due to its innate versatility, for various psychological reasons he will build a larger arsenal of ninjutsu and fūinjutsu in this fanfiction.**

**\- As for his power, Sage and Bijū modes will return before Shippūden, not saying exactly when though. Six Paths Sage Mode is potentially (but not definitely) lost forever, same with the Rinnegan.**

**And that's all I have to say about that.**

**Starting with this chapter, I'll provide translations of all the techniques used up to this point along with descriptions of fanon-only techniques used, at the end of each chapter. Starting with Chapter 5, I'll also be recommending other fanfics to my readers.**

**You'll also notice a couple of changes in the summary. The Adventure genre tag the story used to have is currently false advertising, since the adventure part won't really begin until the end of the Reintroduction Arc, so it's been changed to the Drama genre tag. Also, while Ino still has a major role in this story, in this chapter Hiashi had a bigger role, so her character tag was replaced temporarily. There will be other times where Hiashi's importance overshadows Ino's, so you should probably expect that tag to change a couple more times.**

**An additional note: Many of the techniques that will appear in this fanfic that aren't in the anime, manga or video games were taken from the Naruto Fanon Wikia. Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu was created by The Gallant Toad Sage, and some of the non-canon techniques are of my own creation, but the Naruto Fanon Wikia is my primary source. Also, if some of my Japanese technique names are incorrect, I expect those who know what the names should be to notify me.**

**Sheesh, this is a long author's note, eating up 3-4 pages. I need to be more careful about keeping them cut down for future chapters.**

**Next chapter: _Gambles._ Where things already start going wrong.**


	4. Chapter 4: Gambles

_Chapter 4_

_Gambles_

_Outside the Yamanaka Flower Shop – With Naruto's clone and Sakura – 0417 hours_

"Do _all_ of the clan-owned properties have sealing barriers that prohibit people outside of the clan from using Shunshin?" Cloneruto complained. He'd been abruptly stopped about one hundred meters away from his destination, and it wasn't due to chakra-related issues. He was surprised by the level of security that seemed to be present here, especially since he'd taken Kabuto's criticisms of Konoha security to heart. Hmm. Maybe his childhood pranks had had some effect on some of the major clans after all.

But it was still absurd for him to run into a barrier that far away from a _flower shop._

"I never cared enough to find out," Sakura said, walking through the alleyways with her otōto's Kage Bunshin. "But this...this is ridiculous. Inoichi-san must be _very_ paranoid."

"Who can blame him? We're _ninja,_ Nēchan. We're all supposed to nurture a healthy growth of paranoia. But yes, this _is_ ridiculous. It's like…" The clone trailed off, unable to think of a reason why Inoichi would go to these lengths.

"Well, he was overprotective of Ino when we were still kids. Kept calling her 'his little princess' and other adorable stuff. I can only assume there was a legitimate threat to her even back then. Most likely from someone formerly in their clan." Huh. That had totally slipped his mind. There weren't many clans in Konoha that hadn't exiled someone at least once in their history. The problem was he often couldn't identify the exiles since those clans also tended to strike the exile from every record that would prove they once existed. Also, Naruto still had a moral aversion to the very idea of throwing someone out of a family, which might explain why he didn't think of it before.

"It's definitely within the realm of possibility. If so, it may also be an advantage to us if he's already gone to these lengths for her."

"Agreed." Both surrogate family members let it be paused there for a few moments as they continued walking at a leisurely pace, absorbing the details of their surroundings. Konoha was unusually quiet at night. Well, at least this part of Konoha was. Having a nearby major clan whose members possessed the ability to destroy one's mind with ease would be a major deterrent to crime. The two wondered if the Yamanaka had taken up any major part of the role the Uchiha once had in policing Konoha.

It pained Naruto to realize how limited his knowledge of the Yamanaka Clan was. The civil war between Konoha and the Fire Capital nearly wiped out the Yamanaka Clan. Worse, a lot of important scrolls related to clan policies had been destroyed in the war. With so many important records missing and with Ino being one of the only survivors, Naruto had not been able to gather an adequate amount of knowledge on Ino's clan during his Hokage training or therapy sessions. He acknowledged it as a significant chink in his plan to reform the world. But he would adapt, depending on what his inner circle's investigations discovered.

"I never encountered this problem, though," Sakura spoke up. "My family was always welcome at Inoichi's place no matter what time it was, so my dad had no problems doing what you tried to do."

"Ya know, Nēchan, I never once heard you talk about your parents. You also rejected me when I wanted to visit them after we escaped from the Gentei Tsukuyomi."

"Naruto, I think it was for the best that you didn't. They wouldn't have approved of you no matter what. At least, my dad wouldn't have."

For some reason, that set off a red light in the clone's head. "Why wouldn't he? What was his occupation?"

Sakura's head sunk in guilt, realizing with that question she'd neglected to tell her surrogate little brother something that could screw up the entire plan, but still unaware of why she had this aversion towards discussing her family. "He's in the Anbu."

Cloneruto's face contorted in anger. That was a major fucking complication Sakura just brought up. "And why did you never tell me this until now?" he demanded, roughly grabbing Sakura's wrist and bringing her to a stop.

"I didn't like my parents at all, dammit!" Sakura yelled way too loud. Again, she struggled to rein herself in and not hit the clone. "Neither one of them ever really talked with me about their lives! They were also very cold and strict, demanding the best from me and never praising me for my achievements, and they were distant a lot, and...and…"

"Yes, Sakura?" The clone's anger was only increasing, but he noticed something was _very_ wrong with the boss's sister. It was simply not like her to abruptly stop.

Then, she gripped her head and screamed, more loudly than he'd ever heard her scream before. Her face scrunched up and contorted into a look that was painful just to watch happen.

"What the hell is happening to you, Sakura!?"

"Get...me...to Ino...now!" Sakura gasped, struggling against whatever it was that was inflicting this pain on her. She had by now collapsed onto the ground, blood leaking out from her nose.

Cloneruto was conflicted as he lifted her into his arms and started running double-time towards his destination. He couldn't take her to the hospital since that would raise unanswerable questions about why he and Sakura were awake and running through the village at that hour, and why Sakura looked like she was suffering a major stroke. Plus, she had specifically told him to get her to Ino.

The cogs in his mind were turning at high speed as he kept running, leading him to hop on board a very dark train of thought. Was it that the reason Sakura never talked about her parents...was because she couldn't? Was her current condition the result of a juinjutsu activation to punish her attempt to do so? And if that was the case, were her parents allied with Danzō?

The clone let out a string of curses that would have made Hidan and Tayuya blush as he barged into the flower shop, triggering an alarm. Less than five seconds later, he was faced with Ino's father, Yamanaka Inoichi, who wore a stern look on his face as he moved to confront the intruder.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take you to the Torture and Interrogation Department right now," Inoichi said. The clan head was in no mood to be toyed with.

Cloneruto, noting the look on Inoichi's face, knew he had no choice but to make a gamble. Inoichi was proficient enough in the mental arts that he would know what was going on with Sakura as well as how to fix it. But that meant Inoichi would also see all of Sakura's memories of the future. If Inoichi was in on Hiruzen's conspiracy, or was simply too loyal to his Hokage to be swayed by the knowledge of the Sandaime's betrayal of Naruto, it was game over for the time travelers. They would all have to attempt to flee Konoha and retake their home at a later date, if that was the case.

"My reason is right in my fucking arms!" Cloneruto yelled. "Sakura-chan is hurt really bad and she told me to get her to you right away!"

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?"

"I think her parents may have used a juinjutsu on her."

Inoichi's eyes widened. Naruto wouldn't know it yet, but Inoichi already knew everything that made this situation problematic. "Follow me. We have to act quickly to disable the seal and minimize the damage to our friend." The clone did as instructed, dropping down through a trapdoor with the unconscious Sakura still in his arms, but noticed that Inoichi had said _our_ friend, not _your_ friend. Did that mean…?

"Before you question that show I put on back there, Naruto-san, I already know about your plan."

_Oh, shit,_ the clone thought.

"The time travel jutsu you used sent you back fifteen years, correct?" Inoichi continued. The clone hesitantly nodded, knowing he had no choice but to play along now that the boss and his inner circle were caught. "I was reading my daughter's mind and was about to stop when a flood of memories entered, memories which could not be explained any other way."

"Why the hell were you doing that to Ino? Shouldn't you ask for permission first?"

"Unfortunately, that is not how the Yamanaka Clan works. If you're in my clan and want to keep a secret, your mental defenses have to be unbeatable and constantly active."

The clone's eyes widened. "And if she was asleep, her defenses would be completely down unless she's trained enough to maintain them at all times."

"Exactly. They reactivated a few seconds after the memories appeared, but a few seconds was all the time I needed to learn the important things from the memory of your war council prior to activating the time travel jutsu. And what I learned about Hokage-sama...disgusts me, for lack of a better word." Inoichi stopped halfway through the underground corridor to kick open a door, revealing a room that Naruto assumed was used for very secret mind operations. As they entered the room, the clone allowed himself to relax a little. There was absolutely no doubt that the Yamanaka patriarch had just taken Naruto's side.

"It's probably treason for this room to be down here, ya know," Cloneruto commented while carefully laying Sakura down on the operating table in the center of the room.

"If that's so, then the crime was not mine," Inoichi replied. "It was furnished by someone we exiled from the clan, but if my suspicions are right, he joined up with ROOT either right after the banishment, or had been working for the Foundation before I banished him."

"Who?"

"His name is Fū, and he's distinguished by his orange hair. The only reason you even have this name is due to my personal observation of his training. He was a rarity among Yamanaka in that he had the ability to use Shintenshin to possess and control puppets, and could use them to bypass the risks of the standard Shintenshin. However, that ability was a product of his fascination with juinjutsu, and was the reason for his fall from grace in the clan."

Cloneruto's expression hardened. "You were far too lenient when you chose to exile rather than execute him, Inoichi," he said, dropping the honorific to further the point that he was very displeased with the Yamanaka patriarch.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible for a Yamanaka to get away with murder. At the time, my clansmen hoped ROOT would give him an acceptable purpose, but now I know otherwise." Both Inoichi and the Naruto clone shrugged. "Can you wait outside the room now?"

The clone shook his head. "Even if you don't need my fūinjutsu knowledge, you or Ino may need to use me as a chakra battery depending on how long it takes to fix Sakura-nēchan's mind."

Inoichi blinked. "Just how much chakra do you have, Naruto-san?"

"More than most Jōnin in the village. And by the way, I'm a Kage Bunshin, and I was given about a fourth of the boss's maximum."

Were it not for the urgency of the situation, Inoichi would have gawked at Cloneruto's statement while he continued to set up the room for this mental procedure. "And why isn't the original here?" he wondered.

"At this hour? Are you kidding? He needs sleep, and I don't think Hinata's gonna let him get out of bed anytime soon."

Inoichi chuckled, both at the recognition of the shy Hyūga's crush and the severe risk Naruto took by entering her bedroom. "Can you send another Kage Bunshin to wake up my daughter?"

"Already did," was the reply from said Kage Bunshin who was supporting a teary-eyed Ino as they walked into the room.

"Ino, you need to pull yourself together, at least for now," the first clone said. "I know how much it hurts to see your dad again after he died, but right now, Sakura-nēchan needs your help."

_I died?_ Inoichi managed not to ask; he'd only looked at the plan and hadn't the time to delve further into the despair that would have awaited him inside Ino's mind. That would certainly explain a lot.

"It's just so hard, Naruto-sama," Ino said.

"I know."

"Naruto_-sama?"_ Inoichi asked, not realizing he'd spoken aloud.

"Less talking, more fixing up Forehead!" Ino yelled. Inoichi nodded at that as the first clone commanded the second to transfer all his chakra into the father-daughter duo. They were going to need it.

* * *

_Inside Sakura's mindscape – With Ino and Inoichi_

"And I thought Naruto's mind was the most fucked up out of all of us," Ino groaned as she focused on regaining her faculties.

"Watch your mouth, Ino-chan," Inoichi warned her. She was right, though—Sakura's mind was fucked up. There were numerous shards of glass, representing recently shattered memories, levitating over a thick layer of pink haze covering the surface of the mindscape. Just what on earth happened to Sakura when she triggered the juinjutsu?

While Inoichi navigated through the desolate scenery, Ino was sorting through the shards, hands glowing with a green aura as she attempted to repair the shattered memories. The elder Yamanaka was in awe at the skill and determination his daughter was displaying. Had she surpassed him in the future? And if so, to what degree?

"It's so sad," Ino blurted out, unable to stop herself from starting a miniature rant. "Even with fifteen extra years of life experience, I still don't understand how someone can have this done to their own daughter…"

"The world is full of monsters disguised under human skin," Inoichi pointed out, needlessly. "Even we have problems pinpointing them before they can do the unthinkable."

"Because we'd be seen as abusing our power if we tried, right?" Ino's father nodded. "I have no such reservations anymore, Tōsan. My only restraint is caution. Naruto-sama and I both know we have enemies in the village that remain hidden, and I'm not talking about the Foundation; we _know_ Danzō's subversive faction can never be anything but an enemy of our new world order. To us, they are not hidden at all. What I refer to when I mention hidden enemies are strictly the enemies we can't yet identify. Until now, Kizashi and Mebuki were among that group. My main role in Naruto-sama's plan is to do what you won't do, Tōsan, and weed out these threats before they can act."

"I...see," Inoichi said. His daughter was absolutely correct in her accusations: he wouldn't go as far as she just said she would. It was a clear abuse of power, and the elder Yamanaka knew what happened to those who committed that offense. For Ino to outright state it was a necessary evil for the position she was in, would mean her future had degenerated into something he didn't want to imagine was possible. Already Inoichi dreaded the inevitable conversation in which his little princess would spill all the beans on his lap. About how he died, and about any and all future horrors which played their part in turning Ino into who she was now. And even then...would he ever be able to reconcile the differences between the Ino of yesterday and the Ino of tomorrow?

Abruptly, both members of the father-daughter duo were frozen in place by a wave of raw malice emanating from the core construct in Sakura's mindscape. Ino and Inoichi struggled to turn their heads to face the black obelisk that emerged next to them, but once they did, they recognized the seal patterns immediately. It was undoubtedly a creation of the banished Yamanaka.

**"Who dares trespass in my mind?"** Inner Sakura yelled as her form emerged from the cursed construct. **"Oh, it's you, Ino-pig,"** she spat out with great disgust after recognizing the young Yamanaka. **"Let me guess: you're here to stop me from taking Sasuke-kun for myself."**

"You've got some serious issues, bitch!" Ino shot back. "I can't believe you would go this far to hurt my best friend and ruin her life!"

**"How touching," **Inner sarcastically commented. **"Poor little piggy is still caught up in her sad little delusions."**

"The only one I see here who's deluded is you!"

"Don't waste words on that abomination, Hime," Inoichi told Ino. "While you were busy getting into a catfight, I noticed a major flaw in the juinjutsu which created Inner Sakura that has resulted in the corruption of its primary directive. If you're going to do any talking..."

"...then do it with my fists," Ino finished. "Very good, Tōsan. I've been asking myself all morning just how long I'd have to wait to give someone a therapeutic ass-kicking." Inoichi's eyebrow twitched at his daughter's choice words. No, he definitely wasn't going to be able to reconcile the Ino of his kinder yesterdays with the Ino of the desolate tomorrows, at least not for a very long time.

**"Big mistake!"** Inner Sakura yelled. **"Little pigs need to learn not to walk right into the slaughterhouse!"** In the span of a few seconds, the construct grew to ten times her original size and started her attack.

_So much for using my fists,_ Ino thought. _Ah well, same principle still applies._ "Suiton: Suitun!" she cried out, forming a ball of water in her outstretched palms and launching it at Inner. Mindscapes were truly a wonderful thing in that some of the physical rules of the outside world didn't apply. Accessing the necessary water supply was as simple as thinking about it, even if it wasn't her own mindscape she was fighting in. The water shield made contact with Inner's enlarged fist just in time to block the Okashō that would have done serious damage to her mind if it had connected.

"Ino, be careful!" Inoichi called out.

"I'll be fine, Tōsan. Just focus on dismantling that juinjutsu." Ino's voice was shaky, however; she may have had more experience than her father, but she hadn't expected Inner Sakura to replicate Sakura's entire moveset so rapidly. _It's a really good thing Naruto's clone gave us so much chakra before we performed the Shintenshin and is still around to monitor us and make sure things don't get REALLY bad in here. I still need to end this as quickly as possible, but I can't use Shinbōkōshin no Jutsu against Inner Sakura without causing brain damage to Sakura. Gah! What the hell am I supposed to do to take that Inner bitch down?_

**"Either get out of my head or die!"** Inner screeched, unleashing a second Okashō right after Ino barely blocked the first one. This time, Ino was able to dodge, but the entire mindscape shook upon impact, causing her to wobble and nearly fall face-first; a fatal mistake if she'd let that happen. Instinctively, Ino felt that Inner Sakura was causing more damage to Sakura's mind than Ino herself would if she used her kinjutsu. The problem Ino faced was, everything Inner Sakura did could be reversed; whereas if Ino used her kinjutsu for a quick finish, the damage would be permanent. She could not risk that.

_C'mon, Ino, THINK!_ "Kioku Sōki: Zanzō!" Ino cried out, this time using a hologram to dodge the third consecutive Okashō from Inner. Activating her ultimate technique gave her amazing clarity, boosting her ability to absorb and retain information and making it much easier to read her adversary's movements. And she was not impressed with Inner Sakura. Inner fought way too much like an untrained brawler...like the old Naruto and Sakura once fought in the original timeline. Ino smirked. It was time to have a little bit of fun with this overgrown manifestation of Billboard Brow's worst traits.

Of course, it didn't hurt that several the techniques she'd use to infuriate and immobilize Inner were once taught to her by a certain Boar-masked ANBU member during the Hi no Kuni civil war.

"Oi, Billboard Brow!" Ino taunted.

**"Ready to get slaughtered, little piglet?"** Inner yelled.

"The only one here who's going to the slaughterhouse is you and your overgrown forehead! Doton: Retsudo Tenshō!" Ino wasted no time in establishing dominance over the enemy construct. In the mindscape, techniques could be executed as fast as they came to mind, and with the memory recall technique active, it was _very_ fast. Going through the three needed hand seals faster than humanly possible in the real world, Ino slammed her palms onto the ground, causing it to start rupturing. A few seconds later, the shaken ground started to spiral in on itself. Due to her monstrous size as well as her inferior will, Inner Sakura found herself unable to avoid the attack. Ino couldn't bury her completely, but for the moment, her feet were trapped, rendering her immobile. It was sufficient for her to execute the rest of her plan.

"Tōsan, I'm going to need you to use a Katon technique soon!" Ino called out to Inoichi. "I won't be able to fully immobilize Inner without your help!"

"Don't you know any Katon?" Inoichi asked.

"No. Both me and Sakura have Doton and Suiton affinities, and any Katon above a D-rank isn't possible for either of us."

"Got it." Inoichi tensed up a bit. He himself wasn't particularly proficient with Fire manipulation, but he did know one technique that could be applied here. From the look in Ino's eyes, he devised that she had trained alongside some of the same Anbu members he frequently worked with and had picked up most of her Doton techniques from them. Having devised that, he had a good idea of what his daughter's plan was. It would have been far more effective if he'd had said ANBU alongside him in the mindscape to help immobilize the enemy construct, but what he had would still work.

**"You'd better let me out of here right now, pig!"** Inner Sakura roared, the venom in her voice permeating the entire surroundings.

"Maybe I'd consider it if you learned some fucking manners, Billboard! Doton: Nentsuchi Otoshi!" Ino conjured an opening above the menacing figure of Inner. Continuing to exert her will over Sakura's mindscape, Ino was able to eliminate the charge period of the jutsu. Inner found herself completely soaked in a thick layer of mud, further hindering her movement. However, she was already resisting Ino's assault. Inner was starting to force one of her feet free from the trap she was caught in. That gave Ino and Inoichi a window of only a few seconds to finish the trap. If Inner was allowed to finish escaping, the Yamanakas would be in major trouble.

"Now, Tōsan! That thing won't stay trapped much longer!"

"Right! Katon: Gōka Hitsukidan!" Inoichi called out, forming the Dog and Horse hand seals. Within moments, a large fireball was shot out from the elder Yamanaka's mouth. Normally, the chosen technique would have required significant preparation time due to the dozens of explosive tags contained within the fireball. However, while battling inside this mindscape, Inoichi's sheer willpower allowed him to conjure the tags immediately.

The result of contact with the mud-soaked Inner Sakura was spectacular. As the construct was unable to get herself free from the earthen trap created by Ino in time, she was instantly engulfed in fiery shrapnel. The mud layer covering her body started cooking from the intense heat, which was amplified by a barrier seal Ino threw up upon impact to contain the explosion.

Inner was screeching like never before, forcing Ino to cover her ears as the sound pressure brought her to her knees. During their childhood in the original timeline, Ino had once overheard a couple of bullies from the academy claim Sakura was a banshee when she yelled at them. At the time, Ino thought they were just exaggerating. However, Inner was living up to their accusation right now. Ino could only imagine the pain the construct was feeling as it was literally cooked alive.

The process took about three minutes to complete. When it finished, Inner Sakura had been almost completely transformed into a giant ceramic figurine.

From his position, Inoichi noted that the assault he unleashed on Inner had transferred to the juinjutsu which created her. It was now badly damaged. Removing it outright should have been easy now.

That is, if it was possible to remove this particular seal without causing Sakura sufficient mental trauma to break it completely. With Sakura's current state of mind, that was actually impossible. The fragmentation of her memories brought on by the juinjutsu's activation obviously had not been damaging enough, and judging by the damage—which Ino had gone back to repairing—it would likely be a long time before another traumatic event with that potential could take place. And only if Sakura was conscious of the battle and participating in it would they have the power to finish off the construct.

But even if it could be removed...would it actually be desirable to do so? And could it be done without consequence? Inoichi wondered how the Haruno parents and their co-conspirators in ROOT would react if they checked up on Sakura's mind and discovered that the cursed seal they placed on her was gone. It would certainly not be good news for Sakura if they discovered the seal was gone and she had free access to the memory that had been sealed in the first place. Plus, Inner Sakura was originally supposed to be useful.

No, Inoichi couldn't attempt to remove the seal without consequence. But he could repair it, make it serve its intended function...but still make it work against the traitors who applied it to Sakura. But even if he did, it was still a cursed seal. There was no surefire way to know his modifications wouldn't backfire on him.

"Ino-chan," Inoichi said, "how skilled are you in fūinjutsu?"

"I have some knowledge on the matter, Tōsan," Ino replied, surprising herself with how humble she sounded. "I'm not a sealmaster by any means, but Naruto-sama taught me everything he could on the subject."

"I hope you learned enough, Hime. We're going to have to completely rewrite the current seal on Sakura-chan. I've completed my analysis of the juinjutsu that was placed on her. It's a memory seal, and it was placed on her when she was seven. Sakura-chan must have overheard or discovered something at that age that her parents couldn't afford to have get out. However, they couldn't have the memory erased because doing so at that age would have damaged her mind and greatly hindered her mental development, so they resorted to using a seal."

"I see." Ino was equal parts curious and furious. She wanted—no, needed—to find out just what her best friend had learned that could drive her parents towards taking this extreme measure. But she also could not get away from the anger that consumed her, knowing this extreme measure had been taken against Sakura.

"The 'Inner Sakura' construct was created by the seal. It was supposed to be strictly a defensive measure to help protect her from interrogation. Inner Sakura's mere presence would combat mental intrusion from enemies who captured her, and would help her resist torture by taking over when the stress on her mind became too great to handle.

"However, Kizashi and Mebuki must have wanted Sakura-chan to take after them, so they requested the addition of a behavioral modifier to the seal that would encourage her to become a fanatic, so they could mold her into accepting their entire belief structure."

"That would be what caused her fangirl streak in the Academy," Ino observed.

"And that modifier also corrupted the construct's primary directive," Inoichi added. "The seal fed off her crush on Sasuke and transformed it into an obsession. Because of it, her talents as a kunoichi became almost nonexistent. Instead of training Sakura-chan, her parents just gave up on her altogether. No longer able to shape her at will, they simply settled on her being out of the way."

"Damn them." Ino was seething with malicious thoughts directed at Kizashi and Mebuki. "Damn them straight to hell!"

"They'll meet that end in due time, daughter. Don't go seeking out a fight right now. You won't win." Ino reluctantly nodded at her father's order. "Now rein in your emotions and help me get to work. We have to make sure all of the memories Sakura-chan has of your future are sealed away so securely that ROOT cannot even try to access them."

"Sure, Tōsan, but can I ask one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Can we replace the current behavioral modifier on the seal with a new one before we re-apply it to seal away all of Sakura-chan's memories of the future? I know we have to seal her memories away for the sake of the plan, but she wouldn't forgive us if we also sealed away the emotions she developed in the future. And I really don't want to lose her for that long, Tōsan. Whatever has happened between me and Sakura-chan, she's still one of my closest friends."

"I don't know, Hime. Are you skilled enough to apply it correctly?"

Ino hesitated for a few seconds, going over her memories of interrogating prisoners from the Lightning Capital captured when Kumo rose up against their country's Daimyō. In three instances, she had been required to place a seal on the prisoners after retrieving their memories to seal those memories away. Each time she did, she'd been forced to design the seal to alter the prisoner's thought processes, restricting their ability to feel specific emotions. Ino hadn't liked it one bit, but recognized that it had been necessary. It also would not have been possible if Naruto had not been right there with her at Hōzukijō, teaching her the intricacies of fūinjutsu.

Ino had only been deployed to assist Kumo that one time, but in the eight weeks she'd spent assisting Godaime Raikage Darui and his inner circle, she had taken full advantage of the opportunity to learn everything she could from them. Granted, the bulk of that time was spent with Naruto, advancing her knowledge in fūinjutsu, but she'd managed to jumpstart her water manipulation training and learned a great deal on the subject with Darui personally supervising her training. During that time, Ino began to notice that she was absorbing and retaining information at an incredible rate. Later, she realized that she was beginning to develop a completely new technique. Ino's constant use of the Yamanaka clan arts made her realize it was possible to use her chakra to rewire her own brain, leading to the eventual creation of her ultimate mental ninjutsu, the Kioku Sōki no Jutsu, magnifying her memory retention ability many times over. Ino's progression in fūinjutsu was greatly accelerated from that point on. No, she was not a sealmaster, but then again, it was very rare for someone not of Uzumaki descent to have _that_ much proficiency in fūinjutsu. She had probably gotten fairly close to Jiraiya's level, though. If any Yamanaka was capable of pulling this off, it was her.

"Yes, I should be."

"Then let's hurry and get started."

* * *

_Back in the real world – Two hours later_

Cloneruto was pacing around the room. None of the others had shown any signs of waking up yet, causing him to grow frantic. Each time one of the Yamanakas twitched, it almost made him explode in panic. His creator had seen a Yamanaka die from the mental defenses of a person he'd used Shintenshin on, and the memory of that incident still gave Naruto an occasional nightmare. If the same thing happened to Ino or Inoichi, it would be a major blow to his psyche and to The Plan.

Each time they relaxed after twitching, the clone could not stop himself from letting out a sigh. He was a nervous wreck. Half of his thoughts were temptations to force his comrades out of Sakura-nēchan's mind before they got their minds destroyed. That he didn't succumb to those thoughts showed he had invested an immense amount of trust in them.

But with such a strong bond came an equally strong fear that the bond would be broken.

The relief the clone felt when the Yamanakas' eyes opened, signifying the return of mind to body, was immeasurable.

"Ino! Inoichi-san!" Cloneruto called out. "Is Sakura-nēchan going to be okay?" Immediately, both of their faces took on a worried expression, and the clone's spirit sank. Had the operation gone wrong...?

"Naruto-san," Inoichi began, "the damage to Sakura-chan's mind was severe. As you suspected, there was a juinjutsu placed on her that triggered during your late night walk, when you asked her about her parents. Ino-chan was able to repair the damage. However, we discovered a few things that are of grave concern.

"The construct we call 'Inner Sakura' was created by the juinjutsu that was used to seal away a memory from when she was seven. In this memory, Sakura-chan overheard her parents discussing an S-rank mission given to Kizashi-san. Even though the memory was sealed, it has still deteriorated, so for the time being, we haven't been able to discern any further details. However, Ino-chan copied the memory before we sealed it away again, and said she won't stop examining it until she can recall the missing details."

"I see." Whatever it was, the clone knew had to have been very threatening to the Haruno parents if it was exposed.

"Inner Sakura was created for three reasons. First, to provide Sakura-chan with a means to resist torture and interrogation if she was captured by enemy ninja. Second, to stop Sakura-chan or anyone else besides the seal's creator from attempting to unlock the seal and gain access to the memory. The reason the seal was applied in the first place was because any effort to erase the memory outright would have caused permanent damage to her mind at that age, preventing her from developing correctly as she grew older.

"However, it is the third reason for being that created the problem. Wanting to ensure that Sakura-chan followed in their footsteps, her parents requested that a behavioral modifier be added to the seal. As you're aware, Naruto-san, it is possible to use certain seals to affect a person's mind, influencing their thoughts, restricting their ability to feel emotions, and so on. It was Kizashi-san and Mebuki-san's intent to use Inner Sakura to encourage Sakura-chan to become a devout follower of their political belief structure."

"But Fū screwed up when he wrote that part of the cursed seal," Cloneruto observed.

"You have no idea, Naruto-sama," Ino said. "Billboard Brow's feelings for Sasuke were, at least to a certain extent, unnatural. We know she used to genuinely love him, but most, if not all of her fanatic obsession with the Uchiha was either influenced or created by Inner. Screwed up doesn't even begin to describe how bad the seal was, in both concept and execution. If the modifier had been applied correctly, we would've had no choice but to kill Sakura, as she would be completely lost to us."

"That bad?" Cloneruto asked, his face looking crestfallen.

"That bad," Ino replied, confirming his fear. "We couldn't remove the seal. All we could do was correct its programming. I'm sorry, Naruto, but your nē-chan isn't going to be with us for a while."

"I understand." Ino flinched at the tone of the clone's voice. It was only used whenever Naruto lost someone important to him. "Inoichi-san, could you...leave the room for a few minutes, please? I need to talk with your daughter alone. Once I'm done, I'll dispel, and you can go back to your business."

"Okay, Naruto-san," Inoichi said. "You have five minutes. I wish I could give you more time, but we have to move very quickly now." He then left the room, leaving his daughter and Naruto's clone to their private conversation.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," Ino said, pulling the clone into her arms and holding him tightly.

"Don't apologize, Ino. This isn't your fault."

"You're not the only one at fault here. I should have done something to find out how bad our Sakura problem was before we came back to the past."

"Let's not worry about that right now, okay? Let's just figure out what we're gonna do until we can get rid of the seal." Ino nodded, but also sighed at Cloneruto. She didn't like Naruto's habit of drowning himself in work or training to avoid dealing with his emotional problems.

"How will Sakura-nēchan be affected now that her memories of the future are sealed behind the juinjutsu?" Cloneruto asked.

"It's too early to tell, Naruto-sama." The clone frowned at her use of that honorific. He would have preferred -kun over -sama, but the original learned a long time ago that it didn't sound right coming from Ino's mouth. (Actually, he felt that Hinata's voice was the only one that made _Naruto-kun_ sound right.) "Tōsan and I were forced to repair the old seal instead of replacing it with a new one. We think the seal is stable now, but it was still risky to add the new modifiers at all. It would be in all of our best interests if we removed her from as much of her old life as possible."

"How? Won't that raise alarms?"

"Tōsan's going to have to report this to Hokage-sama either this evening or tomorrow morning. If he plays his cards right, we can get Sakura emancipated as soon as she registers as a ninja. Her parents will probably be glad to have her out of the house. But team assignments are still going to be a problem." She was referring to the tradition of putting the Rookie of the Year, Top Kunoichi, and Dead Last on the same team. "If she can still function as a kunoichi, there's no valid medical reason Tōsan can give that can alter the teams. We can't let Sakura stay on Team Seven, Naruto. We can't take the risk that she'll regress back into her old self."

"I think I have a plan for that. When the boss sent me to fetch Sakura-nēchan for help running an emergency errand, he sent another clone to disable the Sandaime's crystal ball, reducing his ability to spy on me. That clone did a little extra snooping around while he was in the office and found copies of all our report cards. Turns out, Hinata's a lot closer to being the Top Kunoichi than we thought."

"Oh?"

"The problem is, even if Hinata gets a perfect score, Sakura-nēchan would have to bomb the written portion of the test."

"Oh..." Ino let her thoughts trail off. No matter how Inoichi presented his case, Sakura getting a less-than-perfect score would undoubtedly raise suspicions. But if her performance didn't suffer today, she would end up on Team Seven, just like last time, and being around Sasuke might make her slip back into fangirl mode. The question was, could they afford to risk sacrificing Sakura just to stay under Sarutobi's radar? Or did they have to risk being found out before they were ready to purge the Sandaime's regime from Konoha?

"There has to be another way, Naruto. If we do this, we could be putting a target on Hinata's back too quickly for us to adapt to."

"I can't think of one right now," Cloneruto said. "I don't think we have enough time to come up with an alternative, either. If we go with this, would you be able to get away with interfering with her during the written portion?"

"Hmm…" Ino dropped silent for a few seconds, making the clone worry. Like with Sakura, he didn't always trust the Yamanaka whenever she actually had to take time to think. "Gah! How did that space my mind? I wouldn't have to do so during the exam, Naruto. I'll talk to Sakura about this as soon as she wakes up and see how much the repaired seal is affecting her. If I can get her to buy into your gamble, we can explain it as a side-effect of the juinjutsu activation when Dad is questioned about it. There may not be a medical reason to keep Sakura off of Team Seven if she remains Top Kunoichi, but there _is_ one for her to bomb the exam."

"A-ha!" Cloneruto was sporting his trademark idiot grin again. Ino briefly wondered what was wrong with him; she'd never seen that grin since the Fourth Shinobi War, and yet he'd now donned it twice since resolving to come back in time. Ino was no stranger to underestimating the intensity of Naruto's feelings, and wondered if she had done so yet again. Had the mere thought of being able to realize his second chance with Hinata already done more to heal him than Ino, as his counselor and confidante, ever could…?

"Sorry...I guess I overreacted a bit there, nē?" the clone asked, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Not at all, Naruto. It's a good thing that you can still do that without faking it. The less you actually have to act, the less suspicion you'll attract and the more time we'll have to execute your plan."

"Right." He was just about to make the seal to dispel himself before Ino grabbed his left wrist. "Ino, I really need to be going now."

"I know, but I'm not letting you dispel without sending my memories back to Naruto as well. Kioku Tensō no Jutsu," she said, pushing her chakra imprint into the clone's nervous system and causing him to faint from memory overload once the transfer was complete. Ino sighed at the reaction and punched the unconscious clone in the gut to force him to dispel.

* * *

_Hyūga Compound (Hinata's bedroom)_

Naruto was jolted awake by the memory transfer from the clone he'd sent on that errand with Sakura. His blood ran cold with the memories—both the clone's and Ino's—sent to him by that clone. Two things had already gone wrong on their very first day back in the past.

First, Inoichi already knew everything, making him the second person outside of Naruto's inner circle to learn of their journey across time. It was apparently custom in the Yamanaka Clan to frequently use their mental ninjutsu on one another to read each other's minds, and it was most often done when their mental shields were down, without the consent of the person whose mind was read. Ino, his most important ally, had suddenly turned into an S-rank security breach. The _only_ good news about this revelation was that Inoichi had chosen to side with Naruto after reading his daughter's mind in her sleep. Whether that would hold true for the rest of the clan remained to be seen. Inoichi had promised to help Ino train so she could strengthen her mental shields even further and be able to maintain them indefinitely, so that, at least, was a plus. Still, Ino—and Inoichi as well—had to be _extremely_ careful now. Ino might also have to seal her own memories, removing herself from The Plan altogether until the full allegiance of the Yamanaka Clan was secured.

And second, Ino and Inoichi had inferred from the episode with Sakura that Kizashi and Mebuki were fanatics loyal to Danzō. Both of Sakura's parents had a long if not quite accomplished history in the shinobi corps, but Kizashi was still serving in Danzō's ROOT faction of ANBU and Inoichi had alleged that Kizashi was one of the best ninja in the ranks of the ANBU. He also alleged that Kizashi and Mebuki adamantly refused to train Sakura, and had written their daughter off as a lost cause when a side effect of the juinjutsu they applied to her caused their fanaticism to manifest itself in her obsession with Sasuke.

Needless to say, Naruto was _pissed._ Somewhere in his gut, he'd known that no matter what was done about Sakura, she would end up creating a problem. He couldn't help being angry at her, even if the incident wasn't her fault this time. He was angry beyond words at her parents for having this done to her. But he recognized he was most angry at himself for this incredible error in judgment that damned near cost him everything.

Like Ino, this incident made Sakura an S-rank security breach. Inoichi and Ino had been forced to repair the cursed seal and seal all of Sakura's memories of the future behind it, but had managed to replace the old behavioral modifier with one that would allow Sakura's future attitudes to override the directives of the Inner Sakura persona, allowing her to not regress back into a Sasuke fangirl. They'd also let Sakura keep her knowledge of Shōsen Jutsu by implanting a false memory to explain how she knew it, and they'd let her keep the few genjutsu she'd learned in the original timeline so Kurenai would be more able to ease into the idea of having her on Team Eight instead of Hinata, but everything else was locked away until such time as both Kizashi and Mebuki were eliminated, along with the rest of ROOT.

Naruto warmed up a little when he realized the implications of that last part. At first, he'd thought it would be necessary to keep the original teams unchanged because any effort to change them would result in raising major red flags to the Sandaime's regime. Now, there was a legitimate medical excuse for Sakura doing worse than perfect on the written portion. It would still raise a red flag, but it would be easy for Inoichi to use it to drive a wedge between Hiruzen and Danzō, which would make his mission in this timeline much easier. More importantly, it meant Hinata had an actual chance to be on his team! It would do wonders for a budding relationship with Hinata if they could get her assigned to Team Seven. And Naruto, being who he was, would have no problems with keeping an eye on Sasuke while also nurturing his bond with Hinata.

Naruto focused his gaze on the pajama-clad sleeping beauty who had him locked in an iron grip. Somehow they'd rolled over during his two hours of sleep—which Naruto thought was the best sleep he'd ever had—and ended up with Hinata using him as a pillow. Not that he minded. As long as she was comfortable, that was all that mattered.

Softly, hesitantly, Naruto stroked one of Hinata's cheeks and flicked one of her strands of midnight blue hair. He was rewarded with a _hmmmm_ as Hinata unconsciously snuggled closer to him. Naruto was enamored by how cute she and her behavior was.

"Naruto-kun is such a soft little snuggly," Hinata said in her sleep. Naruto's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat. He didn't know whether to be amused or mortified by the nickname his soul mate gave him.

Kurama wasn't helping matters any, either: **_"Snuggly? Snuggly!? Bwahahahahaha! Your mate is a real laugh riot, kōzō!"_** the bijū roared, snickering the whole time.

_"You're just jealous you're not snuggly like me,"_ Naruto retorted, sticking his tongue out before conjuring a giant muzzle over Kurama's snout. The Kyūbi's head crashed into the sewer floor from the ridiculous weight of the accursed contraption. _"Now be a good little kit and shut up. I prefer to have peace and quiet in my snuggle sessions."_

**_I will get you back for this, snuggly gaki,_** Kurama thought, knowing that Naruto had shut off their telepathic link.

Meanwhile, Naruto was busy thinking of how to gather his own blackmail material. And was failing miserably at that self-appointed task. But who could blame him, now that he could add _snuggly_ to his list of titles?

Wait a tic...yes, that was _exactly_ what he was going to do. Naruto smirked. He wasn't the only one who could get teased over being snuggly.

"How snuggly am I, Hinata?" Naruto whispered into her ear.

"Very snuggly," Hinata replied, still asleep.

"Well, I think you're _more_ snuggly than me."

"Silly Naruto-kun." Hinata giggled. Then she realized something. Her dream felt a little too real, and her pillow was a little too firm, and...did it smell like ramen? And was her pillow _talking?_ And why did it sound like...like...

Hinata's eyes snapped open.

And were it not for the silencing seals placed on her room, her scream would have woken up half of Konoha.

"N-N-N-Naruto-k-k-kun? W-W-What a-are y-you d-d-doing h-here?"

"Calm down, Hinata!" Naruto was panicking even more than she was. "Your father asked you if you were okay with bringing me here, remember?"

Hinata, of course, did _not_ remember, at least not at first. She was too busy hyperventilating as most of the blood in her delicate body rushed to her head, turning it one of the brightest shades of red Naruto had ever seen. Overload was imminent.

"Breathe, Hinata. Just breathe," Naruto said in a softer tone. This time, she was able to listen and do as her crush asked. After about ten deep breaths, Hinata's panicking stopped and her blush receded, though not completely. "That's better. Now, do you remember what happened before we went to sleep together?"

"I...I had the strangest d-dream," Hinata said. "I...I dreamt t-that Otōsama came in here and a-apologized to me f-for everything b-bad he d-did to m-me, and t-then..." She gulped. Naruto-kun was here, so... "It wa-wasn't a dream, wa-was it?"

"If it was, we're both dreaming," Naruto agreed. "I'm sorry for breaking down on you like that, Hinata. I'm also sorry for scaring you so bad."

"Don't apologize, Naruto-kun. It isn't a b-bad thing to cry sometimes. What's really bad is if you k-keep it all bottled up in-inside."

Naruto gently rested his right hand on Hinata's shoulder, earning a quiet gasp and a slight deepening of her blush. "Thanks for letting me come here, Hinata. You have no idea how much I needed to see you this morning."

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun." Hinata's gaze fell to her lap, where she was poking her index fingers together—a nervous habit Naruto remembered well. "Anō, Naruto-kun...could you tell me what your n-nightmare was about?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable with telling you right now."

"Oh..." Hinata felt dejected after hearing that. Naruto picked up on her mood shift right away and scrambled to placate her.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Hinata. It's just that it's something very personal and I...well. You know I've always lived alone, right?" Hinata nodded. "I...don't really know how to open up to others that well. I mean, sure I have a few friends, but they're not all that close to me. I'm not used to having someone I can really talk to about whatever's troubling me, ya know?" It wasn't really a lie. Even Ino's mental therapy sessions in the future he'd escaped from had been very unproductive at times.

Hinata nodded again, but this time said, "You can always c-come to me whenever you need to, Naruto-kun."

"I know, Hinata. But that might not be as easy as it sounds."

"W-What do you m-mean?"

Naruto sighed and took a deep breath. This was the moment when everything would start to change for them. "Earlier this morning, before I came to visit you, I snuck into the Hokage's office and learned a lot of terrible secrets that were being kept from us. We've been used and lied to our entire lives, Hinata. Almost everyone in the village has."

"Is...is it about the...the..."

"Kyūbi?" Naruto questioned. Hinata hesitantly nodded. "How did you know I have Kyūbi sealed inside me?" he asked, inwardly panicking. Rather than answer, Hinata froze up, deathly afraid that Naruto would turn away from her, or worse, report her for breaking the Sandaime's Law.

Naruto may not have had the ability to sense emotions anymore, but it was painfully obvious from the way Hinata's body stiffened and her face paled that she was crippled by fear. He needed to fix that. "You're not in trouble, Hinata," he said in his softest voice. "I found out before coming here, so you can't get in trouble for talking to me about it, alright?"

"A-Are y-y-you s-sure?" Hinata stuttered, still reacting badly to Naruto's learning her knowledge of this earth-shaking secret.

"Absolutely sure, believe it." It didn't do much to make Hinata relax. Naruto sighed. What the hell had he been thinking, bringing up his furry friend like that? Sure, he needed Hinata to know the Sandaime had betrayed them, but discussing his condition of containing a sentient weapon of mass destruction in their first actual conversation from her point of view was _not _the way to go about this! "Uh, you don't have to tell me right now, okay? I mean, it doesn't look like you're comfortable with this topic, so can we come back to it later? Just nod if you understand and agree." It took Hinata a few seconds for the words to sink in, but she nodded. Inwardly, she was both relieved and disappointed that Naruto-kun chose to put it off for a later time.

"Anyway, Kyūbi is actually the least of our problems right now. I'm still trying to sort everything out, but right now I believe that we can't trust the Sandaime at all. If he even suspects we might be seeing each other like this, he might take action against us, and that would be really bad."

Hinata was trembling from this revelation. Naruto's referring to the Sandaime by his title instead of the more affectionate "Old Man"/"Jiji" he'd always called him only made his serious tone scare her more. "But w-w-why would H-Hokage-sama d-do that?"

"I don't know, Hinata, at least not yet." _I wish I could tell you everything, but right now you're not emotionally ready to share my burdens._ "But what I do know is that right now, there's only a few people in Konoha you can trust. Aside from me, your father, and Tokuma-san, I think you can trust Inoichi-san and Kakashi-sensei, and maybe Ino and Shino, but almost everyone else could turn against us."

"I don't understand..."

"I know." Naruto drew Hinata in for a hug, making her gasp, but also making her trembling subside a little. "Once I've got myself all sorted out, I promise I'll tell you everything, okay, Hinata?"

"O-Okay," and with that, Hinata let herself snuggle into Naruto's embrace. Normally, she would have been far too shy to even consider doing such a bold thing, but it has been an extraordinary morning with some very disturbing things said to her, and right now she needed some comforting, which Naruto-kun was more than willing to provide.

"But this doesn't mean we can't see each other at all, Hinata. It just means we have to be very careful about meeting up, ya know?"

Hinata gasped at the possible implications of those words. Her blush returned in full force. "Y-You m-mean like a...a..."

"A secret romance?" Naruto suggested, realizing too late he was being careless with his words. Hinata gasped again, blushing even more, and Naruto could tell from the deepening of her blush that she was about to start hyperventilating again if he didn't soothe her. "Breathe, Hinata. You don't have my permission to faint yet."

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata said, taking more deep breaths.

"Don't apologize, Hinata. I know this is a lot for you to take in." She nodded. "But as for your question, no, at least not yet. It's way too risky for us to pursue that kind of relationship right now. But that shouldn't stop us from training together in secret whenever we can, as long as we make sure no one other than the ones we trust know about it, right? So, uh, would you like to do that, Hinata? Start training with me, that is?" Again, Hinata was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. She'd wanted Naruto-kun to ask her to be his girlfriend, but knew she couldn't handle the question if he'd asked, nor believe him if he'd asked. Besides, between his crush on Sakura-san (which she didn't know he didn't have anymore) and what he told her this morning, it simply wasn't possible. But she couldn't lose hope! Naruto-kun still wanted to see her and spend time with her, so she still had a chance!

_Don't faint, Hinata. Naruto-kun hasn't given you permission to faint, so DO NOT FAINT!_ "H-Hai!" Hinata said with enthusiasm. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on Naruto.

"Whoa, Hinata, could you let go a little, please?" Naruto asked, his voice raspy. "I'm having trouble breathing here." On cue, Hinata shot out of his lap, blushing up a storm and muttering unintelligible apologies. "Hey, calm down! I'm not mad at you. You're just really strong, is all."

"No I'm not," Hinata muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"I s-said I'm not s-strong," she insisted.

"Bullshit." Hinata turned away from him, not wanting to hear his harsh voice, so Naruto placed both his hands on her face and turned her back around to face him, making her gasp. "Hinata, look at me and listen. You _are_ strong, no matter what anyone tries to say or do to convince you otherwise. I know your father sees it, and I know I see it, and I know your cousin and little sister will see it soon, so why does it matter if no one else wants to see it?"

"B-But..."

"No buts, Hinata. I can't accept that you don't see the strength I see each time I look into your eyes. Look deep inside yourself and see what I see, and for God's sake, Hinata, stop putting yourself down! You're a lot stronger than everyone else wants you to believe. I'll keep saying it as many times as you need to hear it. And we've already agreed that I'll come over and train with you whenever I can, so we'll both get even stronger. And one day, after we've trained ourselves into the ground, we'll both become so strong that we won't have to hide from anyone. Does that sound good to you?"

Naruto grew worried when Hinata didn't answer. He tried prodding her, but she still didn't respond. After twenty seconds, he heard her start crying. "Hinata? What's wrong?"

"T-This...this can't be r-r-real," Hinata sobbed. Naruto was taken aback; he had made a mistake he didn't think himself capable of making. He had underestimated her emotional fragility.

"Huh? Why not?"

"If you were r-really N-Naruto-kun, you w-wouldn't be h-h-here. You'd s-still be ch-chasing S-Sakura-san, and you w-w-wouldn't even..."

Hinata was cut off with a gasp when Naruto pulled her back into his lap, kissing her softly on her forehead while using his thumbs to gently wipe her tears away. Luckily, the idea of fainting didn't even cross her mind. Were it real, she'd have fainted many times over by now, but then again, if it was a dream, why would she be crying? Naruto-kun seemed to know she was asking herself this, and wrapped his arms around her, beckoning her to relax and accept it. Maybe, just maybe, this dream was real after all...

"Hinata," Naruto said, "I'm done chasing Sakura. You're the only girl whose existence I want to acknowledge like that. I'll stay with you, _and only you,_ for as long as you'll have me. That's my promise of a lifetime to you." With that, he had gone fully past the point of no return, and knowingly went against what he'd said about it being too dangerous for a relationship between them. He knew Hinata could easily interpret what he just promised as a marriage proposal, which was ironic considering the words Hiashi said to him prior to his entering the compound, and choose to reject him. And if she did, he didn't know what he would do with himself. But there wasn't a single ounce of his being that wasn't screaming out for Hinata to stay with him. He needed her, and he needed her to know how strong that need was.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata gasped. This was far too good to be real, and yet he'd used _those _words, and she knew from watching him all the time that once he promised something, he would do everything in his power to keep that promise. He hadn't said he loves her, but his words and comforting actions told her he felt something strong towards her; strong enough that he really was going to give her a chance, and find out if he could love her. Hinata felt the slight traces of uncertainty and doubt Naruto-kun couldn't quite conceal from his voice...which she interpreted to mean he wasn't fully sure of what he felt. Hinata didn't know this wasn't true, that he was hopelessly in love with her, but it was easier for her to come to this conclusion, because she wasn't confident enough in her own feelings to know for sure that what she felt for Naruto-kun was love. But with her Naruto-kun here to help and guide her, she knew she would be confident enough, one day.

What once would have been the hardest thing to say suddenly became very easy for her. _"Hai,_ Naruto-kun. I want nothing more than to have you with me," she finally said, without stuttering.

Naruto momentarily lost control of himself when he heard her answer. _"Arigatō!"_ he yelled excitedly, jumping off the bed and doing a happy dance with Hinata still in his arms. Hinata was giggling without restraint.

"You're...hehe...w-welcome, Naruto-kun, but could you...hehe...p-please put me down now?" she asked, having trouble catching her breath between giggles. Naruto reluctantly complied; he didn't ever want to let go of her.

"Sorry," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, don't ever forget what I said. I might not be able to do everything I just said I would, at least not right away, but I will figure it out somehow, because I don't go back on my word."

"I know, and I won't," Hinata replied, still feeling a bit of the surge of confidence Naruto gave her.

"Good." Wistfully, Naruto stared at the open window and watched the sky as night gave way to the sunrise. "Uh...should I be leaving? It's almost dawn now, and I don't think anyone here besides you, Tokuma-san or your father would be too thrilled with me being here, ya know?"

"Normally I would ask you to s-stay for br-breakfast despite that, Naruto-kun, but with e-everything you s-said...yes, I think it would be b-best if you left now, b-before the rest of the clan wakes up. But if y-you'd like, I could b-bring you something at the Academy?"

"That would be great, Hinata! I'll see you there soon!" Naruto finally moved towards the window to take his leave, but he still had one more thing he needed to say. "Oh, Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Don't hold back on the exams today. I know how hard you've worked at the Academy, but I also know you can do even better. I think it would help us out a lot if we ended up on the same team when we graduate from the Academy, ya know? It would make it a lot easier for us to train together if we didn't have to do it all in secret. And I really want to be on the same team as you, Hinata. _Believe it."_ Naruto could say nothing more, as he'd stayed far too long. He turned himself invisible with the Tōton Jutsu and jumped out Hinata's window.

Hinata was thoroughly in shock. Even with the bad things Naruto-kun warned her about, today was officially the best day of her life. Naruto-kun had got Otōsama to turn over a new leaf and mend the rift in their family. Then, he'd defied all authority in Konoha by coming to her in the dusk (albeit at Otōsama's request), seeking her out for comfort, and to comfort her. And if that wasn't enough, he'd offered to help her train, and wanted her to be on his team when they graduated from the academy! He'd even promised to give up on Sakura and be with her instead! To top it all off, he'd _kissed_ her! It was too much to take in. Hinata knew she should have been more suspicious of Naruto-kun, but she was simply too happy right now to care. All that mattered to Hinata at this moment in time was that her Naruto-kun had finally seen her and was going to help her fight to make all of her dreams come true.

_Naruto-kun...I won't let you down_ was Hinata's last coherent thought as the bliss of the moment finally overwhelmed her, causing her to faint onto her bed.

* * *

Technique List for Chapter 4:

Doton: Nentsuchi Otoshi: Earth Release: Sticky Earth Drop

Doton: Retsudo Tenshō: Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm

Gentei Tsukuyomi: Limited Moon Reader

Katon: Gōka Hitsukidan: Fire Release: Great Fire Incendiary Bullet. The user releases from their mouth a large bullet-shaped mass of fire that has a dense accumulation of explosive tags hidden within. These tags ignite from within the fire and cause an intense explosion of flaming shrapnel resulting in widespread damage and can easily overwhelm a target who is caught within the blast range of this technique.

Kioku Sōki: Zanzō: Memory Recall: Afterimage. The extension of Ino's Memory Recall Technique that allows Ino to create holograms of herself to avoid getting struck by enemy attacks.

Okashō: Cherry Blossom Impact

Shinbōkōshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Assault Technique. Derived from the Mind Body Disturbance Technique, this uses Ino's chakra to assault the target's mind directly. Depending on the intensity of the attack, it can cause serious, potentially irreversible brain damage, or even kill the target by triggering an aneurysm.

Shōsen Jutsu: Mystical Palm Technique

Suiton: Suitun: Water Release: Water Shield

**A/N: I'm not particularly happy with that fight scene inside Sakura's mindscape, but it was my first…**

**I also must apologize for the delay in posting the chapter as well as the content. Three particular reviewers (one unfortunately being a guest) have pointed out stuff in their reviews and via PM that has forced me to push the graduation exams back a chapter. Yes, I really did just turn the first chapter of the original into five chapters in my rewrite. Next chapter will be the actual exams along with the Mizuki incident. Rest assured that things will be different.**

**My two excuses for taking longer than desirable with this chapter are a massive case of writer's block and losing my phone temporarily because my family's bank account was hacked last month.**

**Hopefully I've made the last scene in this chapter...ahem, _snuggly_ enough to make up for this?**

**Okay, now for the reasons for this end-of-chapter A/N. From now on, I will try to keep all A/Ns posted at the end of the chapter, rather than the beginning. Warning: there may be spoilers for the manga included, so read at your own risk.**

**First, I feel the need to reply to two specific reviewers:**

**\- Flickering Moon (Guest): If you continue to follow this story, I would ask that you make an account so I can respond to you via PM. I don't like acknowledging guest reviews, and doing so is potentially problematic anyway, as you can see from the absurd length of my reply.**

**Most of your criticisms seem to be of the time travel genre itself, rather than with this specific story. However, I will address your review as though your issue was with the story rather than the genre.**

**Yes, Naruto's biggest personal reason for going back in time IS to get his second chance with Hinata. Yes, he will be aware that initiating a romance too early will put the target on her back sooner than he might be able to adapt to; however, he had to go to her anyway so that she would at least be aware of the danger to her and Naruto from within Konoha's walls. It would be worse for Hinata if Naruto didn't tell her what he could afford to tell her, as soon as he could afford to. Sadly, this meant the potential romantic implications in the scene at the end of this chapter were unavoidable. You have to realize that pre-time skip Hinata is emotionally fragile and needs to be reassured that she can overcome her turmoil, and the only way Naruto knew how to reassure her was to make that promise to stay with her as long as she's willing to have him. I will reveal, however, that Hinata will start to grow suspicious of Naruto, at least until he decides the time is right to trust her completely.**

**About your Gary Stu comment...would you care to elaborate? How is it Gary Stu if Naruto knows his plans have flaws and that he'll have to adapt to compensate? If you'd read Chapter 2, you would have noted that Kurama pointed out the original plan WILL fall apart, and it has already started to do so here. No plan ever survives first contact with the enemy, and I hope the Sakura incident in this chapter has done an adequate job of demonstrating that, if only to a currently limited degree. Feel free to speculate about the potential implications of this to your satisfaction. Now, if you're talking about Naruto's speech patterns and maturity demonstrated in the first three chapters, keep in mind that the story begins post-canon, and even the epilogue of the Naruto manga shows that the titular character has gained wisdom in adulthood. Why is it so much of a stretch that he would have a higher degree of maturity here than he did in his portrayal in Shippūden, especially since he has suffered losses in _An Uzumaki Scorned_ that he hasn't suffered in the manga canon? The _real_ stretch would be if he was still genuinely the idiot he is portrayed as in most of the canon. But if his speech patterns still sound off, would you care to point out where and how he feels OOC for a more jaded version of himself?**

**Back to the romance issue...aside from the very real Sarutobi problem presented in my story's plot, what is your personal beef with a potential pre-time skip romance between Naruto and Hinata? Keep in mind the very important cultural differences between the Naruto world and the modern Western world. Naruto's setting is based off the Sengoku (Warring States) period of Japan; due to the shorter average lifespan of those times, one would be expected to find a wife and have children sooner than we, in this day and age, consider morally acceptable. Due to the various technologies included in Naruto, however, I consider the real time setting to be post-apocalyptic, but it is still primarily an Eastern-based culture. Plus, children are being trained to kill the enemies of their village from a young age. This would cause the children to mature more rapidly than they normally would in Western society. This would also mean that a preteen romance, while it may be to your personal distaste, would not be morally unacceptable in the Naruto world. Again, Naruto is aware of what would happen if he gets caught, but if protecting Hinata from his enemies means becoming more than just her friend as he trains with her to help both her and himself get stronger, he wouldn't try to avoid that level of development. Naruto believes that attempting to keep her at a distance until he knows he's strong enough to protect her without fail carries the risk of making him lose her again, but in a way that's more painful than having watched her die the first time around.**

**Your words about defining it as a preteen romance don't truly apply to Naruto in the time travel genre. Naruto IS NOT thinking like a preteen when it comes to Hinata. He's looking at Hinata through the lens of a man who loved Hinata in his and her totality. So you'll have to understand how this opportunity for a second chance can be overwhelming for him. And if he was absolutely confident in his ability to protect her, he'd probably declare his love from the top of the Hokage Monument.**

**But there are other major reasons besides saving Hinata and taking revenge against Sarutobi - a revenge Naruto knows full well he might not be able to fully achieve, at least not in the sense of "actually killing the Sandaime himself" - that motivate his decision to travel back in time. Yes, Naruto could have reformed the shinobi world in his future, BUT, as the story progresses, if you continue reading, you'll continue to see mentions of this post-canon timeline that make staying in said timeline less and less desirable, and I don't just mean the fact that I did not disband ROOT after Danzō's death in this AU. The Fourth Shinobi War really messed up Naruto's entire world and nearly destroyed it, something Kishimoto has no plans whatsoever to explore now that the manga is over. Kaguya has a confirmed planet-buster ability, so would it be unreasonable to expect that the Shin: Jukai Kōtan that Madara used to ensnare the entire world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi is potentially a continent-buster?**

**Also, I've already stated in Chapter 1 and reiterated in Chapter 3 that the Fire Daimyō attempted to economically cripple Konoha in this story's future timeline, forcing Kakashi to declare war on the Fire Capital. And of course the economic sanctions against Suna by their Wind Daimyō happened in canon. The problems created by the Daimyō and their power over the nations they govern are one major example of what Naruto wants to rectify. And this Naruto, as Kurama mentioned in Chapter 2, is wise enough to recognize that no matter how powerful he becomes, he cannot achieve his ambitions alone. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken anyone else back with him.**

**As far as the control exercises go...ask yourself this. Of the three options Naruto has - a. successfully performing the Bunshin no Jutsu to graduate properly; b. failing to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu and being forced to let Mizuki tell him to steal the Scroll of Seals again, knowing full well that what he's doing is a capital offense; or c. performing the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu without a believable cover story for how he knows it - which two of those three do you think would set off the bigger alarms? In canon, the only reason Naruto got away with stealing the scroll is because he genuinely did not know that what he did was wrong, which led to him being forgiven. The same CANNOT be said in the redo here, and Sarutobi would be well within his power as Hokage to have Naruto sentenced to death if Naruto stole the scroll again.**

**I can't answer your other questions unless you make an account and PM me, because they would potentially spoil too much of the plot for the rest of my readers.**

**But I do appreciate your constructive criticism. If you find you can't read this fic any longer, I completely understand and I wish you good luck in the rest of your endeavors.**

**\- Circle of Phoenix: Your whining does not deserve to be acknowledged. You do not deserve the insignificant amount of time I'm consuming by typing this up, but oh well. You have no case against me. This fic has not violated the Terms of Service in any way. The only ToS violation that has occurred here is you flaming me, which, by the way, I have reported, and I WILL report you again each time you flame me if you continue to flame me just because you don't like that I rightfully criticized one of your fics. And guess what? Due to your persistent whining, your "respect" means nothing to me. And might I also point out that by disrespecting me for writing this story, you also disrespect everyone else who has ever used the plot point of "the main hero/heroine is betrayed and goes back in time to correct the mistake", INCLUDING The Gallant Toad Sage, whose work inspired this fic. So I strongly suggest you back off.**

**Second, I have a poll for readers to make the aftermath of the exams more interesting. At first, I was going to have the teams stay the same as canon for one main reason: to try and keep the target off Hinata's back as long as possible. However, I believe that Hinata would have been a far better fit for Team 7 than Sakura, and the authors I've spoken to agree. Plus, when the target _does_ get put on her back, Naruto would be in a better position to protect her if he's her teammate.**

**The question for the rest of you is, would you rather have Teams 7 and 8 remain unchanged, or do you want Hinata to overtake Sakura as Top Kunoichi and get onto Team 7 with Naruto? Whichever one wins out, will affect the immediate plot, up to and including the Land of Waves and Hidden Waterfall arcs. Also be aware that if the majority votes to have Hinata overtake Sakura, it WILL raise red flags to Konoha's administration.**

**Third, I'm currently working on a timeline for the events of the futureverse in _An Uzumaki Scorned_, but am waiting to post it to my profile until we know what happens in Naruto 7: The Last. For the record, my feels are NOT ready for this movie.**

**And last, the epilogue of Naruto has brought up a possible side pairing issue for this fic. Well, I know I'm very late saying this, but the main pairing of this story, NaruHina, IS CANON. (And it feels _so_ good to say that.) So are ShikaTema and Sai x Ino. Chōji x Karui and Kiba x Tamaki came out of left field, but there's no reason I can see at this time not to imply them even if I might not be able to develop them. However, regardless of whether or not I kill Sasuke, SasuSaku will NOT be one of the pairings in _An Uzumaki Scorned._ If Sasuke lives, he won't be paired with Karin or Haku either.**

**Anyway, enjoy. Also, *does a happy dance because my beta reader Solvdrage added this story to hinatasgreatestfan's C2, NaruHina Puritans***

**Next chapter: _It's All in the Eyes._ Ino trolls the Academy Exams while Shino...has a major anger management problem.**


	5. Chapter 5: It's All in the Eyes

_Chapter 5_

_It's All in the Eyes_

_Naruto's apartment__ – __January 2__1__, 996 A.C –__ 0715 Hours_

In the original timeline, Uzumaki Naruto had panicked a lot, often over the most trivial things. War and death had shown him just how trivial they were, and forced him to mature a lot more than he'd liked. After his return from Kumo, he'd maintained a level head—perhaps too level—in nearly all situations. Comparatively speaking, there were only a few topics or issues that _could_ make him legitimately panic anymore.

Three of them had occurred this very morning.

The first was the Inner Sakura incident and learning that Inoichi had viewed Ino's memories. His surrogate sister and best friend had both turned into walking time bombs, potentially with a very short fuse.

The second was unrelated except by circumstance to the juinjutsu that created Inner Sakura. Repairing her mind and attempting to repair the seal, but make it work for them instead of the enemy, had taken priority and expended his clone's life span. The clone he'd sent on the errand had been forced to drop that errand altogether, and now there was no time to send another clone out to procure the needed supplies for a trip to Suna. By the time he could revisit the errand, there would be no way he could get a Kage Bunshin to Suna before Suna learned he was no longer a civilian, even with Hiraishin (which he couldn't risk using anyway), meaning that any attempt to send his clones to fix Gaara's seal would likely end up triggering a diplomatic incident.

If need be, Naruto could wait until Gaara and his siblings were sent to Konoha for the Chūnin Selection Exams, but he'd really rather address the problem as soon as possible, and maybe see about getting Suna to not align itself with Orochimaru this time around, if he could expose the Wind Daimyō's schemes to the Yondaime Kazekage. But now he had to wait and hope a mission to Suna would come along. And he'd have to rely on Team Ten to get that mission.

And the third issue was none other than Hinata.

What the _hell_ had Hiashi been thinking, insisting that he walk into her bedroom in the middle of the night, and taking advantage of the fact he was no longer physically able to defeat the upper-level Hyūga once they got into taijutsu range? Sure, with a little boost from Kurama he could still negate most Jūken attacks, but any Hyūga who was at or near the level of Hiashi or Tokuma would be fast enough to blitz him before he could access his tenant's chakra, rendering his advantages as a jinchūriki largely meaningless. Until he could unlock the seal again, he would have to focus on speed training and improving his sensing ability. And until the elders were dealt with and the loyalty of the entire Hyūga Clan secured, every Hyūga he didn't trust absolutely—which was pretty much every Hyūga except Hiashi and Tokuma—was a potential enemy or a pawn of the enemy. Including Hinata, if the enemy acted against his feelings before he regained enough power to be confident in his ability to protect her.

Begrudgingly, Naruto admitted he had needed to get the first encounter out of the way as soon as possible, but why did Hiashi have to lure him right into the lion's den to do it?

Hinata herself was an emotional train wreck, not as bad as Naruto but still pretty bad. He knew better than anyone how hard it was on you when no one would acknowledge your existence. Hinata, the black sheep of the Hyūga Clan, had silently suffered from her clan's scorn and lack of acknowledgement for years until he'd intervened. Her suffering wasn't quite for the same reasons as his, but her pain was almost identical. Belatedly, Naruto realized he should have expected her to break down the way she did...but he didn't think he'd have to go so far as to make that promise _on his very first day back in the past!_

Thankfully, she had reacted in the best possible way, at least for now. Naruto guessed she wasn't quite thinking coherently, though, and once she got her faculties fully together and was comfortable enough around him, she would undoubtedly start asking questions he wasn't sure he would be ready to answer.

Naruto slumped down against the front door. Lazily, he made a sealless Kage Bunshin to gather his school supplies for him while he went into his mindscape.

"Before you start ranting, you should know that I'll have to switch the link off very often while we're in Konoha," Naruto told his bijū. "We can't let our conversations draw suspicion and paint targets on our backs before we're ready."

**"Your reasoning is sound, but it does not excuse your decision to sever our connection during your snuggle session with the Hyūga girl,"** Kurama replied. **"While I normally don't care about human relationships, your fragile bond with her is one that requires my special attention to ensure you don't accidentally break it."**

"Gee, thanks for caring," Naruto said sarcastically. "But...maybe I wouldn't be panicking so much right now if I'd let you give your input at the time."

**"Don't dwell on it. You're already drowning in a sea of regrets; you don't need to whip up a new storm to expand that sea.**

**"In any case, given what we know about her mental stability, making that promise was the best possible course of action. Just from looking at her, it's plain to see that the poor girl is almost as screwed up in the head as you are. She fears rejection as much as you still do, so you have to make it clear that you are incapable of turning her away."**

"Thanks again for telling me what I already know." Naruto shrugged. "I must be completely insane, ya know, having to take psych advice from a giant, fuzzy chakra beast on a regular basis."

**"Considering what the world has put you through, I'd say you've held yourself together remarkably well. Any lesser human would have lost it long ago, and truthfully, I don't believe we'll ever figure out exactly why you, of all people, have managed to endure and persevere."**

"Kurama, how many times will I have to say I don't give up and don't go back on my word?"

**"Many, and I'm not bored enough to be assed into predicting exactly how many."** Kurama decided it was prudent not to remind Naruto of the few times he _had_ gone back on his word.

"Whatever." Naruto rose from his sitting position in the real world once the clone tossed his backpack into his lap and dispelled. _"Let's just get this day over and done with. The sooner we get the exams finished and get Mizuki busted, the sooner I can start working on healing Hinata and putting The Plan into motion."_

Kurama, knowing that Naruto needed to shut off their link again before leaving, only had time for one last statement. **_"Don't forget to have her visit Ino and Inoichi-san on a regular basis,"_** it said. **_"It's a certainty that she has repressed a lot of painful memories, and there is a good chance some of those memories may be sealed. Just like your Sakura-nēchan, your mate is a time bomb waiting to go off. I warn you, Naruto, do not underestimate Hinata's fragility again. It will not bode well for either of you."_**

Naruto simply nodded before severing the connection. He took a few more seconds afterward to breathe deeply, calming his nerves, before leaving to realize the beginning of his altered destiny. He could not afford to panic now.

* * *

_Konoha Ninja Academy – 0735 hours_

The first feeling Naruto had to repress when he arrived was nostalgia. It surprised him that he even felt this way. There was no reason for it at all. He was thoroughly disillusioned of the childish belief that future glories awaited the fresh genin about to come out of the Academy and enter the ranks of the shinobi. And even when the belief was there the first time, loneliness was still the dominant emotion in his being.

But Naruto understood why he felt this way. He was about to see the rest of his friends who were unaware of the second chance he gave them. And hopefully most would remain unaware for the foreseeable future.

Forcing a grin, Naruto walked through the open door. Were it not for it being his first chance in ten years to interact with his classmates again, his feelings would be focused solely on his overwhelming disdain towards the Academy curriculum. Sure, as a kid, he'd struggled immensely, but that was because he didn't have anyone to help him; he'd had to be completely self-reliant for most of his childhood, and had major problems with paying attention to the material. Now, as an adult stuck in a preteen's body, he was unimpressed with the current standards and had a major issue with the curriculum and graduation process.

The program completely failed to instill the concept of teamwork into the academy students. The learning process here was focused almost entirely on the individual, forcing competition when it should be encouraging cooperation, and did not address any of the demands that would be expected from new genin teams. This was a fundamental flaw in the ninja training program that he believed was a major culprit behind the 66 percent rate of failure in the secondary test. How were those graduates/genin-potentials supposed to understand something that was never taught to them? It was the reason Team Seven had nearly failed Kakashi-sensei's bell test the first time around. Naruto was sure there were other reasons why so many other teams failed, but the lack of teamwork was a big one. Once the Sandaime was removed from power, Naruto would ensure that Sarutobi's successor rectified this problem, that is, if the invasion of Konoha by Suna and Oto didn't happen again and do it for him.

As for the rest of the curriculum? Naruto wondered if there was genuine reason for the paranoia that seemed to be behind the refusal to teach students more than the basic techniques. The curriculum only taught a bare minimum when it came to using chakra, presumably to minimize the risk of bandits learning how to use chakra. The problem with the policy was that civilian-born students were put at a tremendous disadvantage compared to those who came from shinobi clans, due to this bare minimum enforced by the administration. Most of the potential genin who failed their secondary test and were dropped from the program came from a civilian family.

That was _bullshit._ Those students were basically being set up to either fail, or get turned into cannon fodder if they somehow passed, as they were not being properly prepared for life as a ninja. Considering the heavy losses Konoha sustained on the night Naruto was born and had the Kyūbi sealed inside him, and on the night of the Uchiha Massacre, this policy was absolutely unacceptable. And it saddened him greatly to know what it would take for Konoha to have its wake-up call again and start training its ninja properly.

Naruto looked up at the ceiling, trying to set aside these thoughts for later. He made two sealless Tōton Kage Bunshin with instructions to jump to the roof and keep their eyes out for any incoming threats. They also had instructions for one to dispel once Hinata arrived, so he could meet up with her before class began. He didn't sense her chakra signature inside Iruka-sensei's classroom when he arrived, so he guessed she fainted right after he left her bedroom, which seemed like the most reasonable explanation for why she was running late.

Most of his old classmates were present, though three of the chakra signatures—Sasuke's, Ino's and Shino's—felt like they'd been agitated. Naruto couldn't sense emotions anymore, but at close range he could detect fluctuations in a person's chakra that were caused by specific feelings. Naruto guessed Shino had just received his memories from Ino and was extraordinarily angry. But that didn't explain the other two disturbances.

Peeking inside the classroom to find out why their chakra was disturbed, Naruto saw something he thought he'd never see. And he could only imagine how disgusted the participants in that scene were.

Naruto remembered the times when Ino and Sakura would stampede into the classroom at the same time, racing to see which one of them could take the single open seat next to Sasuke. Today, however, Ino had taken the appearance of her old self to the extreme. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Ino rubbing herself against Sasuke in an erotic manner. The Uchiha was blushing heavily and squirming, trying to escape Ino, but he appeared to be pinned down. To add to the hilarity, Ino also invited one of Sasuke's fangirls, one who sported messy purple hair and wore a striped blouse, to join in on the show.

Naruto backed away from the open classroom door and started laughing out loud.

"Oh, wow, Ino, I didn't think you had it in ya!" Naruto shouted, doubling over in his laughing fit. _I'm pretty sure Ino's gonna use some brain bleach on herself by the time the exams are over and she goes home,_ he thought afterward. _Still, her level of commitment to The Plan is pretty awesome. Also, note to self: never let Sasuke live this down._

"D-didn't think she had w-what in her?" an all-too-familiar voice asked. Naruto froze up. He'd been distracted enough by Ino's little show that he hadn't sensed Hinata at all, and his Tōton Kage Bunshin apparently chose not to dispel and notify him of her arrival.

"H-Hinata…" Naruto stammered, focusing his attention on the shy Hyūga in the bulky beige jacket. "H-hi there…" Hinata giggled at his bluster.

"Ohayo, N-Naruto-kun. W-What were you laughing at?"

"Maybe you should take a look for yourself?" Hinata nodded and slowly walked towards the classroom door. A few seconds later, she backed away, her entire face having turned scarlet.

"I-I-Ino-san...is d-d-doing…"

"Breathe, Hinata," Naruto told her. "You're not allowed to faint on me here." She managed to comply with Naruto's order and took in a few deep breaths. After her blush receded and she stopped panicking, Naruto said, "There's something I wanna talk with you about after the exams are over, Hinata, but I can't do it with anyone else around. Can you meet up with me at Training Ground 26 three hours after school ends?"

"I-I...I don't know, N-Naruto-kun...that's p-pretty far from the H-Hyūga Compound…and it'll be dark..."

"Then ask your father if you could have Tokuma-san take you there? It's really important to me that you come." His last sentence made Hinata gasp.

_Naruto-kun thinks it's important for me to go to him? _Hinata wondered, her insecurities causing her to momentarily forget about her heart-to-heart with him earlier. "H-Hai...I'll t-try."

_"Arigatō."_ Naruto gave her a soft smile—one of his true smiles. Hinata knew instinctively that it was a special smile, but she had no way of comprehending the true significance of his smile.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata was at a loss for words. His smile captivated her. She knew right away that it wasn't one of his ordinary, forced smiles, which meant he was truly happy in her presence right now. And she could see some of the pain in his eyes lessen when he smiled at her. Hinata was determined to find out why that pain was so strong, but didn't yet have the courage to call Naruto-kun out on it. But knowing she could ease his pain just by talking with him filled her with hope, and she thought she could feel her self-confidence rise just a little bit from her discovery.

"We should probably walk into class now, nē?" Naruto said. Just as he was about to do so, Hinata stopped him by tightly gripping his left hand. "Hinata? What's wrong?"

"I-I...I don't want you to forget your br-breakfast, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said, letting go and looking at the floor as she took a sealing scroll out of her jacket, holding it in both hands. He'd forgotten all about her offer earlier. But he also didn't like her refusal to face him now. "It's sealed in h-here...otherwise..."

"Hinata, please look at me." She didn't. "I won't accept it unless you look me in the eye." That made her head snap back up to face him. "That's better. Why are you so afraid that I'll be displeased with you?"

"I-I...I...um..."

Naruto took both her hands into his right hand and used his left hand to cup her chin. "You shouldn't be afraid of me, Hinata. You've become a sunny place for me today. My day is already brighter because of what you've done. Thank you."

Hinata gasped again, and she felt herself start to lose her grip on reality. This moment—no, every moment she'd spent with Naruto today felt like the sweetest dream, and it hurt. It hurt so much, feeling this wonderful because her crush, her hero, her Naruto-kun was focusing so much on her, and she didn't know why he'd want to talk to or spend time with her.

But he'd told her she wasn't allowed to faint, to slip back into blissful dreams. As much as this feeling hurt, making Naruto-kun upset with her would hurt worse. Not wanting to upset or disappoint him, she forced herself to hang on to the threads that kept her connected to the real world.

"N-No, N-Naruto-kun. Thank you...for encouraging me so much..." Rather than continue talking, Hinata decided to take a bold action. Part of her, the part that operated on her hopes, thought that maybe she could convey her thoughts better through touch instead of words. She hugged Naruto, shaking from a combination of fear and joy as she wrapped her arms around her source of strength. Naruto quickly returned the hug and rubbed her back, understanding what Hinata was feeling and wanting nothing more than to ease all her fears away.

Their embrace lasted all of five seconds before they were forced to let go of each other. "Holding you in my arms feels really nice, Hinata," Naruto said without realizing at first what he just said. It registered a few seconds later when he saw Hinata's face light up in a very cute shade of pink. This worried Naruto; while he learned that he liked seeing Hinata blush, he knew that a full face blush like this one was the precursor to a fainting spell, which would wreck his gambit. "Hey, don't faint on me yet. We can't be on the same team if you flunk the test because you're unconscious, ya know?"

Hinata meekly nodded. But something about Naruto-kun was still bothering her. She still had every reason to doubt that the sudden change in Naruto-kun's feelings was genuine. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, Hinata?"

"W-Why do you w-want me on your team? W-Wouldn't you rather have Sakura-san?"

"No, I wouldn't." Naruto clutched Hinata's shoulders as he stared deep into her eyes. "I can't tell you all of my reasons why I want you as my teammate, at least not right now, but I'd much rather be teamed up with someone I know cares about me and doesn't waste all their time chasing after Sasuke. Do you understand?" Hinata, not trusting her voice, gave Naruto two small nods; however, the look in her eyes told Naruto she expected a little more out of him. Specifically, where he stood with Sakura-nēchan.

Naruto sighed. He still wasn't great with tact, and yet he knew he had to choose his next words very carefully. "Look, Hinata," he said, "I'm not gonna lie to you, I still care about Sakura a lot. But I realized that she'll never love me the way I thought I wanted her to, so I decided I needed to stop chasing after her. I thought a lot about why I admired Sakura and realized that I was crushing on her, craving her attention, for all the wrong reasons. I still want her to love me, but...now I want her to love me like a sister loves her brother. I want her to see me as family. Do you understand what I'm saying, Hinata?" Hinata gasped. Since when had her Naruto-kun's speech become this profound?

"N-Naruto-kun...really feels that way?" Hinata wondered, her voice shaky. Naruto-kun wanted Sakura-san as his sister, _not_ his future wife? If he was telling the truth, this admission was above and beyond her wildest hopes and dreams.

"Yes, Hinata, and that's one reason why I _don't_ want Sakura on my team. Since my grades are really bad, I'll probably be stuck with Sasuke as a teammate, and I don't want Sakura there too. It wouldn't be good for her growth as a kunoichi or as a person if she spent most of her time fawning over someone who thinks of all girls as either annoying or disgusting. It'll also drag the whole team down and get us in a lot of trouble I'd much rather avoid. But you, Hinata? I know you take your training seriously, and I know you won't let your feelings get in the way during a mission. You're exactly the kind of person I want fighting by my side.

"Also, I still stand by what I said to you this morning. It'll do us both a lot of good if we're on the same team when we graduate."

Unfortunately for Naruto, Hinata had just lost her grip on the tether that kept her connected to the realm of consciousness. The intensity of his feelings was too much for her to handle. Her mind was already registering his words as part of a blissful dream, one she couldn't fight off any longer. Succumbing to the dream's call, Hinata barely had enough time and will to squeak out a soft "Forgive me" before she fell forward and rested limp in his arms.

"Hinata? Oh, crap!" Naruto shouted, starting to panic. _Dammit, Hinata, I told you you weren't allowed to faint!_ This position Hinata stuck him in by fainting was _very_ compromising. No one had their eyes on him yet, but the second someone saw him holding a fainted Hinata, he would be bombarded with questions and teasing, neither of which he could afford to happen. He needed the help of someone he could bribe to keep quiet. He thought that maybe Kiba could be bought, but he didn't know how close Kiba and Hinata were in the Academy.

_C'mon, Naruto, think! Kurenai-sensei once told me Kiba used to keep smelling salts on him for whenever Hinata suffered one of her fainting spells, but she didn't tell me when he first started...ugh! Dammit! Guess I have to make ANOTHER gamble!_ "Hey, dog breath!" Naruto yelled out, startling some of the students in Iruka's classroom.

Inside the classroom, Inuzuka Kiba and his ninken Akamaru were very confused by today's antics. He'd seen Ino grab Shino's wrist the moment Shino entered class and make one-handed seals for a technique he didn't recognize, and whatever she did to Shino, it caused his kikaichū hives to start buzzing very loudly. Then he'd seen Ino pin Sasuke to his seat and start rubbing herself against him, along with someone else from the Uchiha Sasuke Fangirl Club. He also didn't know why Naruto wasn't in class yet, since the knucklehead usually showed up early, even if it was just to get him, Chōji and Shikamaru to skip class and pull pranks.

Naruto's yelling from right outside the class only confused the Inuzuka and his puppy even more.

"Was that Naruto who just yelled at us from the hallway?" Kiba asked. Akamaru also gave a questioning whimper.

"Better go and check, mutt," Ino suggested, feigning a disappointed look over the distraction giving Sasuke enough time to escape from her and Ami, who had only joined in due to a Shinshu Ino planted in Ami's head to make her more susceptible to certain thoughts. Inwardly, she was relieved that Naruto gave her an excuse to stop. Now she just needed to erase the memory from herself and everyone who witnessed it—well, everyone except Naruto, knowing Kurama would never allow anyone inside his jinchūriki's mindscape if their intent was less than pure.

"Fine," Kiba grumbled, earning another whimper from Akamaru. Maybe he could get some other answers while he was at it. He walked up the stairs and out the door and saw the last thing he'd ever expected to see.

"Aw, don't tell me Naruto finally took a hint!" Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru yipped in approval.

"Kiba," Naruto growled in a dangerous tone, "you are going to stay completely quiet about this. No one hears about this from you without my permission, especially not your mom."

"Why should I? What's in it for me?"

"Well…" Naruto scratched the back of his head while keeping the fainted Hinata close to him in a one-armed hug. "You remember me pranking Iruka-sensei with the Oiroke no Jutsu during our Henge review yesterday after I got caught painting the Hokage Monument, right?"

"Are you kidding? I don't think anyone's going to forget those stunts anytime soon!" Kiba laughed at the recent memory. Akamaru yipped in agreement with his owner.

"If you help me wake Hinata up and keep quiet about this incident, I'll give you the magazines I used to develop that jutsu?" Naruto could almost hear Kiba's jaw hit the floor at the sound of his bribe. And he could definitely smell the blood that started dripping from Kiba's nose a few seconds after his shock wore off. A slight shiver ran down Naruto's spine as he realized he might have just released another open pervert onto the streets of Konoha. Was the collateral damage that would assuredly result from corrupting the mutt worth the price of his silence? _Probably not,_ Naruto mused, _but I'm better off with him getting his hands on the porn than Hinata, or worse, Sakura-nēchan._

"Deal! Just tell me where you live and I'll stop by there tomorrow."

"Can we make it next week? I'm kinda expecting someone to check in who might not like you being around. If you can wait that long, I'll even buy your whole team lunch at Yakiniku Q."

Kiba looked around in confusion. He blinked once, twice, thrice. Naruto never offered to buy anyone a meal, especially somewhere other than Ramen Ichiraku. Couple that with Naruto holding Hinata protectively, and...

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Naruto?" Kiba said.

"Do you always have to be this way, Kiba?" Naruto shot back. "Or do you want us to get in trouble with the Hyūga Clan if they find out?" As if on cue, Naruto finally received the memories of his disobedient clone. As it turned out, Hinata's bodyguard Kō had been very pissed off, why Kō was pissed off Naruto didn't know, but he guessed it had something to do with him and with a few choice words from Hiashi back at the Hyūga Compound. His clone had not taken Kō's hissy fit well and decided the caretaker was in need of an attitude adjustment.

"Okay, okay!" Kiba threw his hands up in surrender. "Just set Hinata up against the wall and get into class. I'll take care of the rest." Naruto nodded his compliance and did so, watching Kiba taking some smelling salts out of his coat pocket.

_Huh,_ Naruto wondered. _Why didn't Kurenai-sensei tell me those two knew one another before being assigned to Team Eight?_ "What an asshole," he muttered after shrugging off the thought, and walked down the stairs, sitting down next to Ino, who exchanged a knowing look with him. It was time for her to initiate a telepathic conversation with him and Shino.

_"So what's the plan for today, Naruto-sama?"_ Ino asked the instant Shindenshin took effect between the three time travelers.

_"I can't use Kage Bunshin as a substitute for normal Bunshin unless we get Mizuki out of the way first and convince Iruka-sensei to stay quiet, and I can't just choose to fail the test and let the bastard tell me to steal the scroll again,"_ Naruto replied. _"Sandaime _will _know something is up and take action against me."_

_"How? It shouldn't be that easy for him to read you?"_

_"It's all in the eyes, Ino. As soon as he looks at me, there's just no way he'll not know I'm hiding something."_

_"I concur with Naruto-san,"_ Shino piped in with no small amount of anger towards his comrades. _"Why, you ask? Because if these memories you gave me are real, Ino-san, then you were once part of the Anbu Intelligence Unit in the future, and you should have already known how the eyes can reveal a person's true thoughts without any need to invade that person's mind and eavesdrop on those thoughts."_ Ino sunk at the words, which sounded like the precursor to a rant. But since Naruto was part of the conversation, Shino instinctively knew better than to launch into that extended rant including the more technical details of how the eye could give away a person's lies. Naruto might not be that dense anymore, if his future self's memories were an accurate indicator, but any speech like the one he wanted to give Ino, one that wasn't dumbed down, still went over the future Hokage's head and gave him a migraine. Although with how angry he was, Shino had considered doing so anyway out of spite. His kikaichū were still buzzing loudly, indicating an extreme level of anger felt towards his future comrades for pushing this burden on him.

_"Calm the fuck down, Shino,"_ Naruto ordered. _"Your future self accepted he had no choice in the matter. Besides, we need you."_

_"To protect Hinata-san when you can't, I know."_

_"Actually, that part of the plan might change."_

_"Explain."_ Shino's tone made it come off as an order. Naruto did not like it when his subordinates overstepped their bounds by attempting to give him an order. He was about to reprimand Shino when Ino spoke up.

_"Billboard Brow has a nasty little cursed seal on her mind that we didn't know about until after we went back in time," _Ino said. _"Tōsan and I couldn't remove it and were actually forced to repair and modify it. For the time being, we cannot allow Sakura-chan to interact with her parents or Sasuke at all. Any prolonged contact with those three could make the cursed seal function as originally intended and put her within Danzō's grasp. We cannot allow that to happen."_

_"Shino, if we succeed in getting Sakura-nēchan onto Team Eight, I'll need you to watch out for her and keep us informed on any worrying change in her behavior. If the worst-case scenario happens and the seal sends her to Danzō...I don't want to imagine how screwed we'll be, or what we might have to do to stop her from betraying us." _Naruto physically shuddered after that telepathic communique. Losing Sakura-nēchan was his second greatest fear, and losing her to the juinjutsu was the absolute worst way for her to go out.

_"With you monitoring and helping her, Shino-kun, we'll be better able to prevent that."_ Ino had also physically shuddered at Naruto's mention of the worst-case scenario. _"Your kikaichū are the best tool we have to pick up on any changes in her behavior, at least until Naruto-sama regains Negative Emotions Sensing."_

_"Do you plan to alter the seal in an attempt to regain that ability, Naruto-san?" _Shino queried.

_"Yes, actually,"_ The Once and Future Hokage replied. _"I need to weaken the seal as much as my body will allow. I also want to get Yamato-taichō back on our side as soon as possible, and this is the best way to do it. I just need to be careful with the timing, to make sure it's Yamato-taichō and not Ero-sennin who's sent to check on the seal. Ero-sennin has to be kept in the dark as long as possible."_

Naruto stopped for a few seconds when he saw Kiba walk back into the classroom, with a furiously blushing Hinata trailing behind. The mutt had obviously decided to tease Hinata over her fainting spell when she came to. But Naruto thought that was a good thing. He wanted Kiba and Hinata to bond more, to make up for the lack of time they'd be spending together in this timeline. Naruto felt a little guilty about tearing apart the original Team Eight; like Team Seven, they had been a surrogate family, but it had to be done, for Sakura's sake. Also, Kiba's teasing would make Hinata less likely to pass off her interactions with Naruto today as a dream.

_"By the way, Ino, Kurama says we should have Hinata get frequent therapy sessions from you and your dad. He says her mind might be as screwed up as mine."_

_"Oh, hell,"_ Ino cursed. _"Should I expect to encounter memory seals on her, Naruto-sama?"_

_"When Kurama says it, expect the worst, but don't hope for the best."_ Yes, that about covered it. Ino audibly groaned at the assessment from their fuzzy friend.

At that moment, Naruto's other Tōton Kage Bunshin dispelled, informing him that Inoichi was escorting Sakura-nēchan to class. Naruto thought it was a wise decision for Inoichi to inform Iruka-sensei about her condition before class started. If she couldn't make it through the whole day, Naruto was sure Iruka-sensei would be understanding enough to pass her anyway.

_"And what of Shikamaru-san?"_ Shino asked. _"He has been observing us since we started communicating like this. It is only logical that he is already starting to grow suspicious of us."_

_"Let me handle him, Shino-kun,"_ Ino said. _"As his teammate and a close friend of his family, I'm in the best position to deal with Shikamaru."_

_"Understood."_

_"Guys, we need to stop talking,"_ Naruto said. _"Class is about to start."_ Ino complied and ended the Shindenshin no Jutsu just seconds before Iruka, Mizuki, Inoichi and Sakura walked in. And Sakura really looked like she should be in the hospital instead of the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone. I need everyone to their seats so we can begin," Iruka announced after making sure Sakura reached her seat. The excited buzz in the room overshadowed Iruka's greeting. "I need everyone** in their seats!"** he yelled, shocking the students into silence with his temporarily enlarged head and enhanced voice.

He smiled to himself as the few stragglers around the door and the most persistent of Sasuke's fangirls quickly returned to their seats. "I am proud of all of you for making it this far! Today, you will be taking the next steps in your careers, lives, and duty as Shinobi of Konoha!

"Now, due to unforeseen events that occurred in the early morning, I have decided this one time to change the rules slightly. Normally, anyone who fails today's final exam would either be held back another year or dropped from the Shinobi program altogether. However, since it has been brought to light that a couple of you may have medical issues which could hinder your ability to pass the exams, I will allow anyone who fails due to these problems to retake the test or a substitute test tomorrow, if able." That could present a very significant problem. Naruto wasn't sure if Iruka-sensei actually had the authority to make that decision. But he dismissed this thought before it could linger.

"The test will begin shortly. I wish you all the best of luck."

As Mizuki began passing out test papers, Naruto glanced over at Ino, who he saw making two sets of unusual hand seals under her desk. _Did she intend to use her mental ninjutsu on the traitor...?_ Ino noticed his glance and returned it with a knowing look, telling him yes, that was how she intended to carry out his will.

Her whispers of _Kioku Fukusei no Jutsu _and _Shinshu_ as her hand brushed against the traitorous teacher's were almost too faint for Naruto's ears to pick up. But he knew immediately that Mizuki's fate was sealed by her actions.

* * *

Naruto had forgotten how excruciating the written portion was the first time around. He wondered if it was worse now because it was technically his second time taking this exam. He supposed he was doing better than he had last time. He couldn't be certain; he couldn't completely recall that memory. His mind had sacrificed some of the details of his third failed exam to better preserve the greater failures which fueled his nightmares.

The history questions were a cinch. As the future Nanadaime Hokage and the man who would unite the shinobi world, he'd had to make sure he was well-versed in history, so he would avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessors.

The economics questions weren't quite as easy as the history ones, but the time he'd endured studying in the future to prepare for his ascension to Hokage also seared the answers into his mind. The real difficulty was not giving away his...views on certain policies on the test sheet.

The math questions _still_ gave him problems. Naruto supposed he could just make a Tōton Kage Bunshin to sneak a peek at the answer key, but that could bring up more issues than he wanted to face. One, if he was caught cheating (a near impossibility for The Once and Future Hokage in a room full of students and only two semi-competent Chūnin, but Naruto knew better than to believe that was completely impossible, and he'd rather not risk the off chance that he could get caught). And two, if he wasn't caught and had a perfect score on the written portion, and Iruka-sensei noticed his score was far higher than it should have been, considering his academic record. Sure, it wouldn't affect his standing as the Dead Last, but it was better to not bother. Besides, there would already be too many questions for his liking once he performed the Bunshin no Jutsu, or at least tried to. His clones at Training Ground 26 earlier found that thanks to losing the Six Paths chakra and resetting the Hakke no Fūin Shiki, he couldn't make the precise number of three Bunshin that Iruka-sensei wanted to see, as his massive chakra reserves would still cause them to overload, but if he increased the number of Bunshin to thirty, they would all turn out as they were supposed to. He just hoped Iruka-sensei wouldn't demand that he make fewer Bunshin. Worst-case, he could probably exploit his jinchūriki status as a medical condition to retake the test, and reveal the Kage Bunshin to Iruka-sensei alone if it came to that, which he hoped it wouldn't.

Every twenty or so seconds, Naruto would look around the classroom, observing his fellow soon-to-be rookies. The first time around, Naruto hadn't cared enough to take in the minor details he was known for exploiting, but now, he was completely attuned to his surroundings and reveled in each detail he discovered.

Sakura-nēchan was having a very hard time with answering the questions, but not for a lack of knowledge—she was struggling just to stay conscious. If Iruka-sensei's ruling held, she would most likely have to retake the exams.

Ino had completed the written exam in the first five minutes. Naruto's only question was which questions she deliberately answered wrong or didn't answer, so to not risk screwing up team placements. She, Sakura and Hinata were all very close together in class standing, and usurping Sakura's position as Top Kunoichi instead of Hinata would screw up The Plan quite a bit.

Every so often, Ino would make a one-handed seal with her right hand, concealed under her desk. Naruto recognized it as the seal for a selective memory erasing technique, one that worked best on recent memories. Just as expected, Ino was bleaching the brains of everyone who saw her R-rated show this morning. Naruto thanked God he knew Ino well enough to know that was the only thing she was using her mind wipe jutsu for. Otherwise, he'd have to expose and chastise her in front of the whole class.

Shino was discreetly sending some of his kikaichū out to gather the answers from Mizuki, who looked like he was growing increasingly annoyed as the exams continued. Despite his anger, the Aburame was showing good form. Good for him.

Kiba wasn't using Akamaru to gather the answers for him. His ninken was taking a nap. Eh. It's not like intel gathering was particularly supposed to matter right now, at least according to the subpar standards and expectations held by the Academy. Still, Naruto was disappointed with the mutt.

Shikamaru, for once, was wide awake, and Naruto knew it wasn't so much because of the exams as it was the telepathic meeting he, Ino and Shino held while waiting for the exams to begin. Naruto knew how smart Shikamaru is, and pretty much expected the lazy Nara to find his situation too troublesome to not investigate. Naruto wanted Shikamaru to be the first of the other rookies to learn his truth and wanted to bring him into The Plan as soon as it was safe to do so. Shikamaru's insight would be too valuable to ignore.

Hinata...her performance made Naruto curious. He saw that she had completed the entire written portion very quickly, and he hadn't detected any chakra expenditures from her. She hadn't used her Byakugan to cheat. This brought up memories of the Chūnin Exams, when she'd offered to let him cheat off her, risking her entire team's chances of promotion just to help him make it through. The purpose of the written test had been to test the applicants' ability to gather information, but after seeing her performance here, Naruto wondered whether she had used her Byakugan then, or was simply more intelligent than anyone gave her credit for. He was personally leaning towards the second possibility.

Lastly, Chōji and Sasuke weren't doing anything noteworthy. The former was snacking on his potato chips as quietly as possible, while the latter, having also completed the written exam quickly, looked even more annoyed than Mizuki.

Seeing that Iruka-sensei and Mizuki were making no move to stop Chōji from eating, Naruto took out the sealing scroll Hinata gave him and channeled some chakra into it to unseal his breakfast.

He froze up when he saw the rice balls that were cutely designed in the shape of his face, triggering a memory of when he, Hinata and Kiba had been sent to capture a thief named Gosunkugi. When they first stopped for a lunch break, Hinata had given him these very same rice balls as a present.

Snapping out of the reverie quickly, Naruto took a small bite out of one of the rice balls, meaning to savor its taste and the care that had been put into its creation.

His words back then were still as true to his heart now as they'd been when he'd said them. Hinata would make a great wife.

That is...if she survived this time.

* * *

A soft but chilling breeze flew past Naruto as he and the rest of his classmates followed Iruka-sensei and Mizuki away from the Academy's obstacle course (which most of them completed quickly) and towards the spot where they would conduct the taijutsu portion of the exams. He didn't really remember most of the spars he'd had here inside the large white ring at the center of the main clearing...well, aside from the very first time he'd faced Sasuke. That was still one of the more humiliating moments of his pathetic excuse for a childhood. Little did he know back then how vicious their rivalry would become, or the price he would pay for chasing after the Uchiha for so long.

Naruto couldn't stop his stomach from trying to force a little bit of bile out of his mouth. He was sickened by the sight of Sasuke—or rather, by the memories of the monster Sasuke had become which flashed through his head each time he saw the raven-haired, revenge-obsessed man-child. The Last Loyal Uchiha's quest for vengeance had made him into the very embodiment of the Curse of Hatred, more completely than Madara. When Naruto looked at Sasuke, he didn't see a rival, a friend, a brother. He saw an abomination, a tyrant, the worst of humanity that was a threat to the species' survival. But Naruto didn't want to see that side of Sasuke. Part of him wanted to believe there was still a chance the Uchiha could face his demons and overcome them this time, but it was going to be a daunting task to steer him away from his current path.

"In just a few minutes, we will begin testing your abilities in taijutsu," Iruka announced, and Naruto barely registered the words while wavering in and out of his vicious reverie. "Your grades for this portion will be determined largely by how well you maintain the stances you've been taught during the past few years. Any displays of ingenuity can increase your score, but only if there is no severe deviance from the standard katas. Now, I want you all to line up at the back of this clearing and wait for your names to be called. Do not break formation until you're summoned to the front." Some of the students were more reluctant to comply than others, but overall, it wasn't as tedious to make them obey as it was at the start of the academic day. Iruka smiled to himself. This last day was going surprisingly easy for him, and he wasn't about to question why.

"Would Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke step forward and enter the ring?" Mizuki requested. It caused some of the students to murmur amongst themselves; while they didn't care who Naruto faced, believing he'd lose regardless, they hadn't been expecting the teachers to make the first match of the taijutsu exams a grudge match.

The moment Naruto heard his and Sasuke's names called, a fierce wave of killing intent, though toned down enough to not drive the rest of the students to attempt suicide, engulfed the surroundings as he walked into the makeshift arena. Iruka and Mizuki were also left stunned and shaking as Naruto entered the ring. Even Ino, the only person unaffected, was surprised by the intensity of this small fraction of the hate Naruto just emitted.

"Naruto, come here," a still slightly shaking Iruka demanded; the Uzumaki only reluctantly complied. "For your sake, you need to end your rivalry with Sasuke today. It isn't going to do you any good to keep up this charade after you become a ninja."

"Pfft. Rivalry implies he's on my level," Naruto quipped, triggering a wave of mocking laughter from most of the other students as the aftereffects of his KI wore off.

"Whatever. Just begin the spar and keep it clean." Iruka then walked outside the circle and signaled the start of the match.

"Hn. Iruka-sensei is right about one thing," Sasuke said as though Naruto had never hit the entire class with KI. "This stupid rivalry you think we have ends here. But you still need to learn that you can never beat me..._usuratonkachi."_

_"Temae,"_ Naruto growled, "this time you're the one who's gonna get knocked out in one hit! Believe it!"

"Oh please," Kiba groaned from the fence where the rest of the class was assembled to watch. "Naruto's all bark and no bite, right Akamaru?" His puppy didn't yip, instead giving a low whine, as if to question the stupidity of his partner.

"Wrong, Kiba-san," Hinata replied quietly. "Something about Naruto-kun feels different. It's like he's hiding his true self from everyone."

"Huh? What makes you think that, Hinata?"

"It's all in the eyes..." Hinata, too focused on her observations of Naruto to be surprised by her stutter disappearing, let her speech trail off. This entire day had been a massive shock to her system and she was still trying to figure out how she should react to it all. Otōsama acknowledging her and turning a new leaf was easy to accept. Naruto-kun's change in attitude and his willingly seeking her company, not so much.

"Who cares about Naruto?" Ami interrupted. "Kiba's right; there's no way he'll beat Sasuke-kun!" This triggered a wave of chanting from the rest of Sasuke's fangirls, which immediately disgusted Kiba and enraged Hinata. The ex-heiress of the Hyūga Clan, in her state of mental and emotional turmoil, was about to decide it was appropriate to attack the pathetic civilian girl when...

"Lariat!" The exclamation from Naruto and the sickening sound of his arm connecting with Sasuke's neck immediately killed all banter on the sidelines and earned the attention of the entire class. Naruto had clearly heard far too much and had decided, true to his word, to end the match with a single hit. No one even saw him move, nor would they have had they been paying attention to the fight and not to their petty bickering. But hearing the declaration of attack and the sounds the attack made were enough to shatter the delusions of everyone. They had no way to dismiss the near-lethal blow dealt to the Last Loyal Uchiha in this "fight" as a fluke victory. Naruto had outclassed and overpowered Sasuke, no matter how much they wanted to deny what their eyes and ears told them.

The class's reactions to watching Naruto knock Sasuke onto the ground with a clothesline were varied, but generally showed some form of shock and disbelief. Most of the fangirls were crying fowl, while the boys didn't know whether to do the same or cower in fear from witnessing Naruto's brutal attack.

The others who would become the Rookie 9 had more telling reactions:

Shino shook his head in quiet disapproval of the scene. He would have attempted to advise against putting on this show, if he hadn't felt Naruto's raw hatred of Sasuke when the two were called into the circle and been forced to back off.

Kiba was slack-jawed and borderline catatonic, unresponsive to even Akamaru. How did the dobe manage to learn a pro wrestling move from Kumo?

Ino facepalmed.

Chōji dropped his bag of chips onto the ground.

Shikamaru blinked twice before muttering "troublesome" and rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

Sakura turned around, doubled over and started dry heaving.

As for Hinata, she completely forgot about her suspicions when Naruto defeated Sasuke in one hit and inadvertently drew everyone's attention to her when she screamed a loud "Yes!" and jumped for joy, eyes closed and smiling wide. When she landed and opened her eyes, she noticed that all of her classmates were either glaring at her, staring with disbelief written all over their faces, or in Ino and Kiba's cases, smirking. Quickly overwhelmed by the attention her outburst received, the shy girl's elation turned into a feeling of total embarrassment. Hinata squeaked and retreated back to the fence, burying her blushing face in her hands and trying to sink into her bulky clothes and disappear. This, much to her dismay, only caused the class to pay even more attention to her. She just wanted to die.

At least until Naruto saved her with a deafening yell of "Leave Hinata alone!" directed at the class. Now he had to put up with all of the glares, plus Iruka-sensei's yelling at him to get back in the ring and make the Seal of Reconciliation with a fuming Sasuke (Naruto knew Sasuke would refuse to do so no matter what), but he ignored them all easily. He was used to their contempt. Besides, they couldn't do anything to dampen his mood as he walked over to the fence and sat down next to Hinata, not really giving a damn if the whole class was still watching him.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked her. She didn't respond. "Hey, please look at me," he cooed, slowly reaching towards her hands to pry them away from her face.

"I-I-I...I c-can't..."

"Yes you can, Hinata. C'mon." She reluctantly let Naruto take her hands into his and opened her eyes, only to gasp when she saw Naruto give her his "true smile" again. "There you go. See? It's okay, Hinata. You don't have to hide from me or feel embarrassed about cheering for me, ya know."

"Uzumaki Naruto, get back here right now!" Iruka yelled, killing the tender moment. Naruto was instantly incensed. Going back to play nice with Sasuke was the last thing he wanted to do. Also, Iruka-sensei was interrupting his Hinata-time, and it didn't matter how close one is to Naruto; _no one_ interrupts his Hinata-time without suffering some form of repercussions.

"Why should I? Sasuke won't make the stupid seal either, ya know, so why should I have to go back into the ring and try to play nice when he won't?"

"Because it's the rule, Naruto!"

"Then fail us," Naruto challenged Iruka in a dangerously low tone of voice, causing Hinata and a few others to gasp. "This is a _ninja_ school, Sensei. If we have to follow all of the rules, then there's no point in being here, so fail us and be done with it!"

Iruka was stunned by Naruto's behavior. Naruto was showing a level of belligerence Iruka hadn't seen from the blond knucklehead in years, and he couldn't figure out why. Sure, they hadn't started off on the right track, due to Iruka's former bigotry, but he thought they were getting past that. He thought Naruto was beginning to accept him, but Naruto's antagonism had reappeared in full force and now it looked like they were back at square one, and he didn't know what he did to completely destroy the progress they'd made. Iruka only knew that Naruto had challenged his authority in such a way that he couldn't win. If Iruka backed off, he'd look weak. If he answered the challenge and failed only Naruto, he was sure Naruto would complain to the Hokage for showing blatant favoritism towards Sasuke, which would likely cost him his job. And if he failed both Naruto and Sasuke for refusing to reconcile, the backlash would be even worse.

He didn't have time to think it over—his hesitancy showed weakness in front of the whole class—when Mizuki cut in: "It's obvious what has to be done here. Uzumaki Naruto, you..."

"You do _not_ have the authority to make that call, Mizuki-san!" Iruka cut his assistant off. He absolutely despised it when Mizuki's irrational hatred towards Naruto brought him to make rash decisions. "Drop the subject and announce the next match!"

"Fine," Mizuki grumbled, and neither he nor Iruka missed the blinding, infuriating cheeky grin Naruto gave them after they conceded this defeat. "Would Aburame Shino and Hibachi please step forward?"

Under his trench coat, Shino smirked as he walked forward to face his opponent. This match would be a fine opportunity to work off some of his anger towards Naruto and Ino for including him in The Plan. Anger which they would consider unjustified, but anger he was finding difficult to release. The upbringing of the Aburame worked against him here. They were slow to anger, but once angered, were equally slow in letting go of their anger.

"Hinata, can you do something for me?" Naruto asked.

"Eeeeeh? W-What do you want me to do, N-N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata turned away from Naruto, blushing madly.

"It's nothing big, Hinata. I just want you to observe the matches with me and comment on them a little. Think of it as a way to build some confidence in yourself, okay?" Hinata gasped yet again. Naruto-kun was continuing to surprise her and she didn't really know how to react. But some part of her managed to recall her silent vow to herself this morning. She swore she wouldn't let Naruto-kun down. She wasn't about to go back on her word.

"O-Okay," she managed to reply. Naruto took her hand into his, but much to her surprise, she didn't feel like fainting from the close contact. Rather, the gesture was comforting, relaxing her nerves. Hinata didn't know how he was doing it, but Naruto seemed to have figured out exactly how to encourage and soothe her.

The match started. Hibachi charged in and threw a wild left hook, which Shino easily side stepped. Hibachi then twirled around and threw a right hook at Shino, only to have his arm swatted away with a mild sting. He was already starting to grow frustrated and started failing to keep his cool. Hibachi tried using the rest of his body more in subsequent attempts to land a hit on Shino, all of which failed miserably. It grew painfully obvious to Naruto that Hibachi lacked a taijutsu style and wasn't even trying to stick to the Academy katas. Hibachi was a brawler type, like he'd used to be.

Apparently, Hibachi didn't get the memo that this was not a street fight. Shino was _toying_ with him, drawing out the civilian's anger which couldn't match his own, and starting to apply more force in his swats. Most of the other spectators didn't care and found the lack of action from the Aburame and the civilian boring, but Naruto and Hinata were paying very acute attention to the fight together, and while Hinata tried to decide how to tell Naruto what she saw, Naruto started to get worried.

"Shino-san...is very angry with you, Naruto-kun," Hinata observed.

"I know that, Hinata. But how bad is it?"

Hinata took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. "Shino-san is not taking this fight seriously. He believes Hibachi-san is beneath him and is not worth his time. Based on his b-body language and the agitation of his kikaichū, I would say that Shino-san refuses to attack Hibachi-san because he'd much rather be fighting you. But I...I d-don't understand why he's so angry with you, Naruto-kun."

"Me neither, Hinata," Naruto admitted. He knew Shino was angry with his forced inclusion in The Plan even in the future, but that alone didn't explain why his past self was so pissed off.

In the meantime, Shino was continuing to either dodge or swat away every attempt Hibachi made at landing a punch on him, without ever following up with an actual attack of his own. At this point, Hibachi's forearms were covered in bruises, but his ego wasn't quite broken.

"I don't get it," Hibachi complained. "This was supposed to be an easy fight! Everyone knows the Aburame suck at taijutsu!"

That was the worst thing Hibachi could have said. Shino was already fuming at the memories Ino forced on him, and hearing the insult to his clan made him snap. Shino charged in at Hibachi and landed a ruthless uppercut on his opponent's chin, knocking him into the air and making him land face-first at the other end of the circle, his feet just inches away from the edge. Hibachi groaned and managed to push himself back up before Iruka or Mizuki could call the match. He then attempted to tackle Shino to the ground, but Shino side stepped it again and delivered a swift chop to the back of Hibachi's neck, putting him back on the ground, this time to stay.

"H-how..."

"It was a foregone conclusion," Shino said in a matter-of-fact tone. It was the last thing Hibachi heard before blacking out. This time, Iruka didn't bother with trying to make Shino stay in the circle until Hibachi recovered. Shino wasn't a Genin yet, but his anger was easily high Jōnin-level, and Iruka only barely managed not to flinch from the aura his student was emitting.

_Yeah, Shino is definitely pissed off,_ Naruto thought. _He needs to be forced back into line._

"Mizuki-san, take Hibachi to the nurse's office, and tell the nurse to make sure he wakes up in time for the next part of the exams," Iruka told his assistant. Mizuki gave him a curt nod before picking up the unconscious student and jogging towards the main building. "Would Yamanaka Ino and Ami please step forward?" he then announced.

_Yummy,_ Ino thought. _Time for the shortest fight the Academy's seen since Naruto's former rivalry with Sasuke began._ She _strutted_ her way to the center of the ring, her pale blonde ponytail waving back and forth and distracting a few of the other students in the crowd. She certainly seemed eager enough to get her match over with.

"Ready?" Iruka asked. Both Ami and Ino nodded. "Hajime!"

"In honor of our time together in the Academy, I have a gift for you," Ino said to her opponent.

"Really! What is it?" Ami asked sarcastically.

"Boot to the head!" Ino quickly performed a roundhouse kick that some of the other students were too distracted to see. The impact of boot against head made a crunching sound. The "fight" was over before it began as Ami fell to the ground, unconscious and with a possible concussion.

"I guess my charm overwhelmed her." Ino flicked her ponytail back and strutted her way back to the other students, earning a few wolf whistles and hollers from some of the male portion of the class. She ignored them as she made hand seals behind her back before settling into formation. To her, the best part of that little display was ensuring she got docked a lot of points for not displaying adequate form in her taijutsu stances (of which she showed none), ensuring that part of The Plan went as planned.

_"Naruto-sama, Mizuki's proving to be more difficult to provoke than you expected,"_ Ino told Naruto via telepathy.

_"Oh?"_ Naruto questioned.

_"He hates your guts and he's one of the biggest idiots I've met, but he still has fairly decent emotional control. You're going to have to be alone with him to get him to snap."_

_"Got it."_

"Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, noticing that Naruto had just mysteriously spaced out for the second time today.

"Huh?"

"You were spacing out for a few seconds."

"Oh. Don't worry about me, Hinata. I'm fine. I was just thinking about something important, that's all," he said, telling her only a partial truth. He couldn't trust Hinata with the knowledge of his and Ino's capabilities just yet. It really fucking _hurt,_ knowing he had to keep so many secrets from her, and knowing that his doing so would cause her to distrust him in return. He wanted, no, needed to be able to confide in Hinata, but until Naruto was strong enough to be confident in his ability to protect her, any secret he told her could easily be used against them, and he absolutely did not want to take that risk unless it was unavoidable. Losing her again was his single greatest fear, and losing her because she turned into a pawn of his enemies would be the worst way for her to go.

"Oh. O-Okay."

Naruto sighed at Hinata's disappointment. Seeing her like that tore at his heart, and he couldn't help but want to placate her, even against his better judgment. "It's about Mizuki," he confessed. "I think he might try to sabotage me on the ninjutsu part of the test, or worse."

Hinata gasped. "W-Why would he do that?"

"Do you remember bringing up my fuzzy secret this morning?" Naruto asked, patting his stomach. When Hinata nodded, he leaned in closer to her and whispered into her ear, "That bastard thinks I'm the Kyūbi and not its jailor."

Hinata froze. She knew most of the people of Konoha couldn't separate Naruto-kun from Kyūbi due to the pain they'd suffered from the attack, but she had no idea there were people like Mizuki who took that lack of distinction to such an extreme. She wanted to hurt Mizuki badly, to make an example for those who kept mistreating Naruto-kun. But she wanted even more to hug Naruto-kun and cry into his shoulder, to shed the tears he almost always kept from falling.

"I-I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, please don't cry, okay?" Hinata reluctantly nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand. "If you wanna do something to make me feel better, all you have to do is win your match today, okay?"

"O-okay, Naruto-kun."

"Would Hyūga Hinata and Kasumi please step forward?" Mizuki, who just returned from the nurse's office, announced.

Naruto gave Hinata an expectant look. "It's showtime, Hinata. Don't hold back."

"I won't." Hinata gave Naruto a firm nod before turning around. As she marched up to face her opponent, Naruto noticed a flash of anger in her eyes and couldn't help but take pride in her surge of determination.

"You're not even trying to hide your affections for her," Ino commented _sotto voce._

"S-shut up!" Naruto yelled, blushing.

"Ino-san is only pointing out the obvious, Naruto-san," Shino piped in. "And it's a potential disaster in the making."

"Ino, Shindenshin," the Uzumaki slipped into Hokage Mode and commanded the Yamanaka. She quickly complied. _"It's just too hard for me to hide my feelings for her. It's taking all of my willpower to hold myself back as much as I am."_

_"THAT was holding back?"_ Ino raged. When Naruto didn't answer, she mentally shrugged and added, _"You are hopeless, Naruto-sama."_

_"I'm an _Uzumaki, _Ino. We feel everything more intensely than anyone else except maybe the Uchiha, and that's only due to their blasted Sharingan."_

_"Pay attention to the fight,"_ Shino warned Naruto, who only let the Aburame's tone slide for one reason: Hinata was expecting Naruto to watch her.

His attention shift came at just the right moment. Iruka was a moment away from announcing the start of the next match, and Kasumi was growing very impatient with the teachers. While Hinata was caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions and needed the visual reassurance that her hero and crush was watching her, supporting her.

When she saw Naruto look into her eyes and nod, the whirlwind was released. What happened next was so extraordinary that no one who witnessed it except the three who were aware of her untapped potential believed she was capable of such a feat.

Hinata attacked first, delivering a debilitating palm thrust to Kasumi's solar plexus. She knew she had already ended the fight, but she wasn't done with her performance. Not letting up for even a fraction of a second, Hinata rained down a flurry of palm thrusts upon the brunette, Afro-sporting bully, who found herself unable to even attempt to block any of the attacks.

When she finally stopped thirty seconds later and let Kasumi fall to the ground, Hinata was certain she had ended any chance the fangirl had of becoming a kunoichi. The death knell wasn't so much triggered by physical injury—though Kasumi would be sporting bruises across most of her body for the better part of a week and would need almost two months to recuperate from her broken leg—as it was by the humiliation of losing to the shy girl who almost everyone wrote off as a failure.

Just as they were with Naruto vs. Sasuke, most of the class was shocked speechless by Hinata's spar. Those who weren't chose not to give voice to their thoughts anyway—well, except for Naruto, who wrapped Hinata up in a big hug the moment he knew no one would be watching his display of affection.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked, embarrassed by the contact.

"You did really well, Hinata. Seeing you lay into that bully like that totally made my day."

"I-I didn't disappoint you?"

"Not at all, Hinata. That was very impressive. You should have seen the looks on everyone's faces when you finished up out there!" Naruto paused for a moment to let Hinata do exactly that, and drank in the awe reflected in her eyes. "I think you just made a lot of people change the way they look at you, Hinata. Maybe one day they'll have half as much respect for you as I do."

Naruto knew he should have expected what happened next. He felt Hinata shivering from the praise he lavished upon her. Then when she looked into his eyes and saw the feelings he couldn't hide, it overwhelmed her. The last thing she did before losing consciousness in his embrace was ask for his forgiveness once more, for being too weak to obey his order to not faint.

Thankfully, he managed to not panic this time.

* * *

Naruto only vaguely paid attention to the rest of the taijutsu exams while letting the fainted Hinata snuggle into his lap as long as he could afford to hold her. Which, much to his disliking, was only a few minutes. Kiba had noticed them concealing themselves in the back and, without saying a single word, gave Naruto his smelling salts before being called up for his match. Reluctantly, they got up and separated from each other for the rest of the day, though it was easy to see in their eyes that they didn't want to leave the other's company.

What Naruto registered after that gave him mixed feelings.

Kiba's fight against Tobio turned out to be a disappointment, more on Kiba's end than Tobio's. Naruto expected a lot better from the mutt. He expected Kiba to class up soon. As much of an asshole as the Inuzuka was, he was still one of Naruto's first and closest friends. Naruto really didn't want Kiba getting killed by his recklessness this time around. The only redeeming aspect of that fight in his mind was hearing Shino verbally lay into Kiba afterward.

Shikamaru considered his spar against a civilian named Wakayama, who was sent to Konoha from the Fire Capital, too troublesome to bother with. Wakayama evidently shared Shikamaru's sentiments. The fight ended with a double loss via ring out in fifteen seconds.

Sakura's performance against the last member of the trio who used to bully her, a spiky redheaded girl named Fuki, tore at Naruto's heart while he watched. The toll taken on his surrogate sister from the juinjutsu incident was too much for her to cope with. Sakura lost, and lost badly. She managed to get in a few glancing blows, but had to be rushed to the nurse's office right after she collapsed from overexertion. But it was the blows she did inflict that concerned Naruto the most. One of those blows had come when Fuki, in an unusual display of skill, redirected Sakura's punch to hit the ground, only to nearly stumble out of the ring. The impact had been eerily similar to the many times she'd used Okashō since learning to utilize Senju Tsunade's famous Chakra Enhanced Strength technique. Naruto dismissed it for now, but he knew he'd have to talk with Ino about the status of the memory seal before they took the True Genin Test in three days.

And by some miracle, Chōji was pitted against Itō Kazuhiro, who also originated from the Fire Capital. The Itō Clan, a clan which made significant contributions to the samurai army under the Fire Daimyō's command, claimed they could trace their history back to a time before the existence of chakra. This claim had prompted Naruto to use many Kage Bunshin to investigate. Sadly, there wasn't a single thing he could find that would corroborate the claims that the clan had existed for over fifteen hundred years. If those claims had been verified, it would have given Naruto significant insight into the pre-chakra world, insight that would have helped him immensely with his plans to weaken and, if necessary, eliminate the daimyō system altogether.

But back to Kazuhiro. What made him a person of interest for all of two minutes was when Ino pointed out via Shindenshin that he was one of the ROOT assassins Naruto killed right after his coronation as Nanadaime Hokage. Naruto gave Ino permission to have Kazuhiro dealt with as soon as the opportunity arose. Ino, true to herself, took that to mean dealing with him right then and there. She planted a Shinshu inside Kazuhiro, gave Chōji a few words of encouragement, and a few seconds later, Kazuhiro snapped and uttered the words which were taboo for an Akimichi.

Needless to say, he would _not_ be recruited into ROOT in this timeline.

The one-sided beatdown from Chōji was a glorious sight in Naruto's eyes. He had wrecked Kazuhiro more thoroughly than Hinata pummeled Kasumi, though the showing was less efficient and nowhere near as graceful, but that wasn't the point. ROOT was down one ninja, and that was what mattered.

However, as brutal as the beating Kazuhiro suffered was, he was still alive, so technically this was an act of mercy. Which brought up a new issue. Originally, the only member of ROOT Naruto intended to spare was Sai, but now he was wondering if it was possible to pinpoint others whose conditioning wasn't irreversible, or other members who hadn't been inducted yet, and save them as well. It would require some heavy thought. He couldn't just interfere with their operations as he pleased no matter how much he wanted to do so. Any attempts to halt the growth of ROOT would likely have to be focused on singling out the future recruits one by one, and unless they could plant a spy inside the Foundation (which he already wrote off as impossible), they were limited to the memories Ino copied from Sai and Kabuto as their only current means of identifying targets to save.

Even as these thoughts coursed through his mind, Naruto was wracked with boredom waiting for their turn to take the ninjutsu portion of the graduation exams. Sasuke had just been called next door, which left him alone with Ino in the classroom. Which was perfect because now they could freely converse via Shindenshin without drawing suspicion.

_"It's deliciously ironic,"_ Ino said over their reactivated mental link after taking a soldier pill to replenish the chakra she spent on her mental ninjutsu throughout the day. _"If I had to guess based on what I've observed today, the only reason Hinata-chan hasn't called you out on her rising suspicions already is because she's as completely oblivious to your true feelings as you used to be to hers."_

_"I thought we were supposed to be talking about our ROOT problem?"_ Naruto inquired.

_"That can wait. You need to rein in your emotions, Naruto-sama, and—"_

_"Tell that to Shino,"_ Naruto interrupted. _"Right now, he's too dangerous. I'd have you mind-rape him to take back his memories, but the problem is, we need him. So he needs to calm the fuck down and accept his role, and fast."_

_"I agree, but you're just as big a threat to your own plan. You really need to tone your affection for Hinata-chan down to a more tolerable level."_

Naruto both physically and mentally shrugged. _"This whole thing is a major shell shock, Ino. I never thought I'd actually get a second chance with her...well, a first chance, really, since we never had our chance in the original timeline. I mean, I guess the time travel option has been there for a while, but I didn't want to use it unless I was completely outta options, ya know?"_

_"I completely understand. Time travel does sorta go against your nindō,_ _after all."_

_"Only sorta, but yeah." _Naruto paused for a few seconds when he sensed Sasuke perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu in the examination room. They'd only be able to maintain their mental conversation for another two minutes at most before Naruto was called for his examination. _"These tests are starting to go by too fast, ya know."_

_"Agreed."_ They both knew their precious opportunities to freely converse without drawing suspicion from the wrong people would be extremely limited after this. _"Why would you destroy Sarutobi-sama's crystal ball this morning? That isn't going to stop him from keeping you under surveillance."_

_"You're talking to the guy who managed to avoid the Anbu for hours each time he pulled a major prank. Trust me on this one. Taking out the ball will buy us at least a little bit of time before he makes things difficult."_

_"If you say so..."_ Naruto detected another chakra expenditure next door and sighed. He really was going to miss these sessions with Ino, at least for a while.

_"And we're out of time. Our least favorite bastard just performed the Bunshin. Got any last-minute suggestions to set Mizuki off?"_

_"Hmm..."_ Naruto instantly went on guard, making Ino sigh. _"Let me give you one of his juicier memories to use against him."_

"Oh?" the Uzumaki questioned out loud. Ino gripped his hand and performed the Kioku Tensō no Jutsu, sending the aforementioned memory to him. He quickly grew ashamed of himself because he couldn't stop a giggle from escaping his lips, one that would have been misinterpreted as perverted by any eavesdroppers even though no physical reaction took place in his lower anatomy. "Oh my God, Ino. You really don't fuck around, do you?"

"Not as much as I used to. I thought you'd like this idea."

"Like it? Ino, in another universe you would definitely be Konoha's Prankster Queen."

"I strongly doubt that Konoha of _any _universe could handle two pranksters of your caliber, Naruto," Iruka cut in. "God knows we have it bad enough with just you around."

"Aw, but you still love me anyway, Iruka-sensei...right?" Naruto responded with false sadness in his voice. Iruka just pinched his nose and sighed in exasperation.

"Just follow me next door. I really hope you're ready for this test, Naruto."

"Please don't make it sound like you wanna get rid of me, Iruka-sensei."

"If I _did,_ would you really blame me? You've been nothing but bad karma ever since I started teaching you. If you stay here any longer, my hair will turn gray by the end of the next term."

"Then maybe I should fail on purpose," Naruto suggested with his idiot grin. "I'm sure you'd look good with gray hair."

"No! I'm begging you, Naruto, please just pass the exams! I'll even buy you as many bowls of Ichiraku's ramen you want if you pass this time!" Iruka added, immediately regretting saying that.

"Uh, thanks, but I think I'll hold off on your offer for now," Naruto told him with a slight grimace at the memory of _that_ particular part of Sarutobi's betrayal, though the facial expression went unnoticed. Iruka was _not_ relieved to hear that Naruto was sparing his wallet. After all, Naruto _never_ turns down free ramen. Couple that with Naruto's friendly chatting with Ino, his swift and unkind defeat of Sasuke, and the brief tender moment between him and Hinata that Iruka interrupted which led into the challenge Naruto issued after the one-sided "spar" with the Uchiha, and Iruka had plenty of reasons to be suspicious of Konoha's resident knucklehead.

"Okay then, but I hope you'll accept the offer soon, Naruto. We...need to talk about the changes in your attitude," he said with a moderate amount of urgency.

"Later, Iruka-sensei." Iruka nodded and left it at that for now. He and Naruto took their places in the examination room.

"You do know the drill, right? First, you'll need to perform the Henge no Jutsu, and NOT that—" Before Iruka could finish speaking, Naruto did exactly what he was instructing him not to do. When the smoke disappeared, Naruto appeared in the form of a naked female, but not just _any_ naked female. Much to Iruka's shock and Mizuki's ire, Naruto chose to transform into Mizuki's estranged lover, Tsubaki.

"Why you—" Mizuki growled out and moved to hit Naruto before Iruka could. However, Naruto caught Mizuki's attack, but when he did his Henge had changed into a perfect copy of the Sandaime Hokage.

"You would dare attack your Hokage, Mizuki-kun?" Naruto-as-Hiruzen said.

"Mizuki-san, back off," Iruka told his assistant, who only reluctantly complied. "I guess that's good enough, Naruto, even if you didn't choose to transform into one of us like I was going to instruct you to do. Now it's time for the Kawarimi no Jutsu." After Iruka finished, Mizuki threw the wooden practice shuriken at Naruto a little harder than was appropriate for a teacher.

Only to wind up on the receiving end of his own shuriken as Naruto chose to switch out with him instead of the sacrificial trash can. Afterward, Naruto gave him a cheeky grin, finally triggering the subliminal command Ino planted in his head just before the exams started.

"What is wrong with you today, Naruto?" Iruka demanded.

"You should be asking Mizuki-sensei that question, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shot back. Iruka was left confused. Why would he be asking Mizuki that question instead of Naruto?

"Oh, I think the answer to _that_ is quite obvious!" Mizuki yelled as he finished pulling the shuriken out of his uniform. "It's plain to see that the Kyūbi no Yōko is trying to manipulate you even as I speak!" he spat out before Iruka could even think about warning Mizuki about the consequences of breaking the Sandaime's Law.

Just as Naruto and Ino planned, the situation blew up in the teachers' faces. Naruto wasn't in the mood to hear Mizuki's rant a second time around and chose to respond with prejudice. Naruto's eyes turned red as he used a precise Shunshin no Jutsu to appear behind Mizuki and deliver a chakra-boosted fist to his lower back before he could respond, causing two of his vertebrae to fracture. Then he used another Shunshin to appear in front of Mizuki and hit both of the traitor's kneecaps with a dropkick. Mizuki screamed in pain from the assault, but Naruto wasn't done yet. Once Mizuki dropped on his broken knees, Naruto kicked him in the groin hard enough to crush his testicles. Then Naruto used a third Shunshin to put some distance between him and Mizuki before charging in with a fourth Shunshin and striking Mizuki with a low-powered Lariat, rendering him unconscious as his head made contact with the floor. During Mizuki's fall, a small vial fell out of his Chūnin flak jacket, which Naruto managed to pick up and put in his pocket without Iruka seeing.

After his assault on Mizuki, Naruto felt disoriented—his twelve-year-old body was not used to performing Shunshin that many times in quick succession. He might have been the fastest and most powerful ninja alive in the future, but it was going to be a _very long time_ before he could train his body to live up to his title again.

"I'm _not_ the Kyūbi," Naruto spat at Mizuki after recovering. "At least...I don't think I am, right?" he asked Iruka, drawing on his worst memories of the future to make the shaking in his voice sound legitimate.

"No, Naruto, you're not the Kyūbi," Iruka agreed. "But you _are_ going to tell me about what you're hiding from me."

"Can we please put it off for a while? I...don't feel like I'm ready to have that talk yet..."

Iruka sighed. He should have known Naruto would be very uncomfortable with sharing that kind of information. "I understand, Naruto. Hopefully it'll make you feel better to know that Mizuki will be placed under arrest for breaking the law Hokage-sama put into place that makes it illegal to talk about the Kyūbi. It was that same law that stopped me from telling you back when you asked me why everyone in the village hated you. It isn't fair that I wasn't allowed to do anything more for you than I did, Naruto. I'm sorry." Naruto just nodded. He didn't feel like Iruka-sensei had to apologize.

"But while we wait for Anbu to take this scumbag away, I really would like to know how you were able to do the Shunshin four times like that," he continued.

"That's not fair, Iruka-sensei," Naruto complained. "I _am_ able to pay attention to some things, at least as long as they're not boring like most of your lessons are! If I see someone using a really cool jutsu like the Shunshin, of course I'll wanna learn it!"

"You might think my lessons are boring, but they all cover stuff you need to learn if you want to be Hokage!"

"Really? I might agree with you on the history lessons, but why do I need to know how to solve those stupid math problems? It shouldn't matter whether or not I know _that_ kind of stuff as long as my ninja tools hit the target, right? What good does all of the theory stuff do out in the field? We need _actual_ preparation, Iruka-sensei, and not just a textbook to study!"

"Um...good point, I guess," Iruka stammered out. This was the second time today Naruto had mentioned a significant problem he had with the Academy's curriculum, and the more Iruka thought about it, the more he couldn't help but think that some things really did need to be fixed. "But we can't do anything about that yet. At least you won't have to put up with the books anymore."

"Huh?" Naruto showed genuine surprise on his face. Was Iruka-sensei going to graduate him without asking him to perform the Bunshin?

"If you can take down a Chūnin that easily, there's no doubt in my mind you should be given the rank of Genin," Iruka said. "But standard procedure still requires me to see if you managed to get past that Bunshin roadblock you've had ever since you started out here."

"Alright, I guess." Naruto shrugged before forming the Ram, Snake and Tiger hand seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called out. A few seconds later, thirty transparent copies of Naruto appeared.

"H-how...?" Iruka gasped. "How did you make that many copies?"

"My problem with the Bunshin wasn't adding too little chakra, Iruka-sensei. It was adding too much. It's still difficult for me to make any Bunshin at all, and I can't make any less than this without them all looking weird."

"I...I see. Naruto, I think I'll owe you another apology after we have our talk. But for now, please pick up a hitai-ite and join the rest of your classmates outside. And Naruto?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei?"

"I'm really glad you passed this time. I would've hated to see you get held back another year." Iruka bent down to give Naruto a hug. Naruto was stunned, but recovered quickly and returned the hug in earnest. "Just don't forget to visit me for that talk."

"Yeah yeah, don't worry, I'll drop by sooner or later," Naruto waved Iruka off, but not without giving his teacher a true smile. It was only now that he could show, just a little bit, how glad he was that Iruka was alive again.

The last thing on Naruto's mind as he left to join his classmates was thinking that the worst part of the exams today was not being able to receive Iruka-sensei's hitai-ite as he had the last time around. For some reason, it didn't feel right wearing a brand new hitai-ite. It didn't feel as special as it did when Iruka had given Naruto his hitai-ite in the original timeline.

Back outside, the other future Rookies sans Sakura (who wasn't with them because she'd failed to recover in time to complete the rest of the exams) were all wondering what was going on inside since they heard part of the scuffle between Naruto and Mizuki. Their questions only multiplied when they saw two Anbu carry a handcuffed, unconscious and badly beaten Mizuki out of the Academy and towards the direction of the Yamanaka clan grounds.

"Guys, what's going on?" Chōji asked the question that was on most of their minds. "Why did Mizuki-sensei get hauled off like that?"

"Oh, no reason, just that he picked a bad time to mess with the future Hokage, believe it!" Naruto yelled out, almost blinding some of his fellow Genin-potentials with his big smile.

"You had something to do with that?" Shikamaru asked, receiving a small nod from Naruto for his trouble. "What a drag," he muttered as he attempted to reacquaint himself with sleep. All of the others were too stunned to know what to think about Naruto actually passing the exams, much less fighting and defeating one of their instructors.

All except for four. Ino had conspired with Naruto to take Mizuki down this time, but saw no point in fessing up to her role, so she just fiddled with her hair and makeup while she walked out of the main building to join her classmates. Shino was _still_ angry with Naruto for reasons only he knew and would likely remain angry even after Ino warned him of the consequences of his insubordination. Sasuke was inwardly fuming; first the _dobe_ had beaten him with one hit, then he allegedly took down a Chūnin and passed? The last Uchiha quickly decided he had to know what sort of power Naruto might have gained access to and whether he could get that kind of power for himself, to further his goal of killing his brother.

And Hinata just smiled. Words couldn't say how happy she was for Naruto.

* * *

_Training Ground 26 – 1910 hours_

Looking at the night sky from the tree branch he sat on made Naruto apprehensive. The sight of the moon, a sight he hadn't seen since Kumo destroyed it with advanced weaponry eight years ago in his future, greatly unnerved him.

To any normal person (as in, someone who didn't come from the future), the evening view would have been considered beautiful. Naruto could call it no such thing, not after he'd seen the moon used in two attempts to destroy the entire human race.

Madara had been the first, nearly succeeding with his misguided plan for peace by trapping the world in the Mugen Tsukuyomi. He'd been manipulated by the homunculus called Black Zetsu, whose primary purpose had been to ensure the revival of the rabbit goddess, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and convert every human on the planet into a White Zetsu. As horrifying as that nightmare was, there was no questioning that the Uchiha juggernaut had used the doomsday weapon that is the moon for the lesser evil.

The greater evil was committed by an alien named Ōtsutsuki Toneri, who Naruto and Hiashi believed had forcefully encouraged most of the daimyō to pursue their ruthless policy of demilitarizing the ninja villages. Even with Kaguya gone for good, sealed away inside one of her own alternate dimensions, the moon still contained a super-weapon powered by senjutsu chakra from the Tenseigan Energy Vessel. That weapon was capable of destroying all life on Earth by releasing a cataclysmic meteor shower from the lunar surface, and could even dislodge the moon from orbit. Toneri had used that weapon without batting an eye; unsatisfied with the efforts of the daimyō, he'd fired a devastating warning shot, killing over two hundred thousand people across the Elemental Nations, before delivering his ultimatum.

Toneri had a single demand: cease all use of chakra as a weapon within one month, permanently, or he would pass final judgment upon the human race and destroy everyone. And with access to his own Tenseigan dōjutsu, which Toneri unlocked by stealing Hiashi's Byakugan, he'd been far more than able to carry out his threat if he thought he was being provoked. It was a threat Naruto knew Toneri had every intention of following through on even if the ninja villages were demilitarized.

Toneri was the most dangerous enemy Naruto had ever faced. He might not have been the most cunning, as he lacked battle experience, but his sheer power put him in a league of his own. Were it not for the _Preta Path_ abilities of the Rinnegan rendering Toneri's innate chakra draining powers useless, Naruto would not have survived their battle.

But even with the Rinnegan, Naruto had not been able to kill Toneri in time to prevent Darui from ordering the destruction of the moon. Nor had he been able to destroy the super-weapon, which specifically required chakra inherited directly from Ōtsutsuki Hamura to even touch, nor salvage Hiashi's eyes from Toneri's corpse before being forced to flee from the impending doom.

The moment Toneri chose to act against humanity altered the course of history. The backlash from his involvement in human affairs affected every living thing on Earth. Many people had lost confidence in the human race's ability to survive after that night. Using the Chibaku Tensei to create a new moon wasn't an option because there wasn't enough of the old moon left to work with after Kumo fired its chakra cannon, and attempting it would only make him finish what Toneri started. The best Naruto had been able to do was create several gravity wells in Earth's orbit, but it was ultimately a less-than-ideal solution.

Now that his mind was finally clear enough to muse on these thoughts, Naruto realized that his quest through time to find love and justice might have been necessary to give mankind a chance for salvation. Maybe the danger to his species in the future gone wrong wasn't immediate, as the shinobi had at least some ability to adapt to the changes in the global ecosystem, but the damage done by four Shinobi Wars and the attempts of the civilians and Toneri to punish ninja for using chakra for war had created a rather bleak future. The realization, while readjusting his perspective, also increased his resolve to spectacular heights. He wasn't about to abandon his personal goals of protecting Hinata and punishing Sarutobi. Not now, not ever. But he was sufficiently reminded that he still had a greater goal to achieve. The world would once more need to call on Uzumaki Naruto as its savior. Maybe he could actually do that job right this time.

Naruto remembered his four main objectives. First and foremost (actually it was the only primary objective until the discovery of Sarutobi's betrayal propelled him into taking The Plan back in time) was still the goal of uniting the Elemental Nations and eliminating all corruption, with preference given to a peaceful, bloodless revolution. The Child of Prophecy had seen far too much bloodshed in his future and had spilled the blood of too many others himself. He wouldn't shy away from taking more lives when it was necessary, but in all other cases, he adamantly refuses to kill those who don't deserve death when it is avoidable. No voice can sway him to change his stance.

The five Daimyō of the Kage nations all deserved to die, there was no questioning that. The Sandaime, the Konoha Council, Shimura and his allies, and most of ROOT deserved to die as well. Jiraiya and Tsunade, he wanted to believe the two people who were the closest thing he'd ever had to parental figures were innocent, but after everything he'd learned, he was mentally preparing himself for the possibility that they, too, were guilty of involvement in the plan to control every aspect of a jinchūriki's life. If Tsunade was aligned against him, Hiashi would have to be installed as Godaime Hokage this time around. Akatsuki was a big question mark. Most of its members were beyond redemption, but the two leaders, Uzumaki Nagato and Uchiha Obito, had both been manipulated and betrayed, just as Naruto had. He wanted another chance to turn them away from their current path, but if it came down to killing them this time, Naruto would act decisively. And Ōtsutsuki Toneri? No, there was no doubt in Naruto's mind that he would end Toneri once more. But the civilians, the bystanders? What crimes had they collectively committed which could justify wholesale slaughter? The answer was none. Those who had done wrong would pay for their mistakes in due time, but the majority were still victims, just like Naruto, and he could not allow himself or anyone else to kill them all just because they'd been manipulated into denying his existence. He was better than that. He might have become a monster, but that didn't mean he would stoop to the level the monsters he was fighting against had sunk to. Doing so would defeat the purpose of The Plan.

Second on Naruto's list was preventing the Fourth Shinobi World War, if at all possible. The threat of Akatsuki in the original timeline had functioned as a catalyst to unite the Elemental Nations, but as Sasuke predicted during his last stand, the alliances had not lasted, except the one between Konoha and Kumo. More importantly, it had also led to two attempts to drive mankind into extinction, and both attempts had caused irreparable damage to the planet's ecosystem. Naruto simply could not let that happen again. Even if he failed in this objective, he would not allow the Ōtsutsuki or Uchiha to have their way with Earth like they did the last time around. Preventing Madara and Kaguya's rebirth would go a long way towards saving the planet from catastrophe, but nothing could be done to eliminate Toneri early or sway him from his course. Only power could answer the Ōtsutsuki's power, and the struggle to regain _that_ kind of power tied into Naruto's third objective:

Redeeming Sasuke.

This objective was one only Ino and Inoichi knew about at this time. It would earn the most criticism from the rest of his peers once Naruto brought it up, but keeping the Last Loyal Uchiha alive was necessary to ensure a repeat victory against Madara (if that battle was destined to repeat itself) and Toneri. It was the only way to regain the power he needed to fight on their level. Naruto firmly believed that Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo would not choose to appear before only one of his two sons' reincarnations, as Hagoromo viewed doing so as repeating the mistake he made with Asura and Indra. Both transmigrants had to achieve the needed condition for the Rikudō Sennin to appear and awaken their full potential. If Naruto killed Sasuke now, any chance he had of reacquiring the Six Paths Sage Mode was gone forever.

But to spare Sasuke's life, they had to stop him from descending into madness. To achieve this, Naruto and Kakashi had to set aside their hate towards Sasuke for the crimes he hasn't yet committed so they could forge Team Seven into a strong family early on. They had to give Sasuke the bonds he lost when Itachi slew the Uchiha Clan on orders from Shimura, and give him the motivation to protect those bonds no matter what. They had to draw him away from his desire to seek revenge, and instill in him a desire for justice. And they had to find a way to tip Itachi off somehow without alerting Akatsuki of his status as a mole. Itachi hadn't learned the lesson he taught Naruto in the future until after he died and was reincarnated, so getting through to the double agent would be hard. But Itachi had to be brought into the fold. Or else...

Naruto's train of thought halted when one of his three Tōton Kage Bunshin guarding the perimeter dispelled. Earlier today, Naruto discovered that his maximum effective sensing range without Sage Mode or Negative Emotions Sensing was only one hundred meters. He could sense some things beyond that range, but it was unreliable. Naruto sighed at those thoughts. He hadn't been able to train with Karin at all while she was locked up at Hōzukijō—it just wasn't allowed—and her availability after she was granted parole was extremely limited. This had cost him access to their clan's hiden, specifically the Kagura Shingan, which would have compensated for the temporary loss of his main sensing tools.

So he knew he'd have to rely extensively on his Kage Bunshin to expand his sensing range until he could train that ability to a satisfactory level. It was an unreliable solution since sometimes his Kage Bunshin were still prone to disobedience, but it was his best option.

The information relayed to Naruto by his clone disappointed and infuriated him. Tokuma had just arrived at the training grounds.

_Alone._

Naruto's eyebrows twitched as he jumped down to the forest floor, inwardly cursing. _Of course_ the Hyūga Elders weren't going to allow Hinata to leave the compound this late, regardless of how many choice words Hiashi had to say on the matter! Naruto felt his anger rising to high levels. He had to resist the impulse to barge into the Hyūga Compound with the intent of giving the elders the last speech they'd ever hear. He still needed a few months to strengthen himself enough to successfully impose his and Hiashi's will on the clan.

"Konbanwa, Tokuma-san," Naruto greeted in annoyance. "Would you care to explain why Hinata isn't with you?"

"Konbanwa, Uzumaki-san," Tokuma replied. "Pardon my language, but the elders were even bigger dickheads than usual this evening," he added with a completely straight face. Naruto immediately fell on his butt laughing at the Tokubetsu Jōnin's statement. What made it really funny was that Tokuma showed no outward emotion when he delivered that statement, along with the common knowledge that Hyūga simply don't use profane language no matter the situation.

It was no wonder Naruto liked Tokuma so much.

"Sorry about that," Naruto sheepishly said after pushing himself back onto his feet, lips still twitching in amusement.

"You certainly have a strange sense of humor, Uzumaki-san."

"And most of your clansmen still have five-meter-long poles shoved up their asses." Now Tokuma couldn't resist laughing a little. Normally the elite Hyūga was level-headed at all times, but he couldn't help succumbing to Naruto's infectious behavior.

"It's truly no wonder why Hiashi-sama seems to favor you." Tokuma paused and took a calming breath. "As I was about to mention after my unbecoming language, one of my clan's elders, specifically Hiashi-sama's father Haru-sama, insisted on forcing Hinata-sama to spar against a Cadet Branch Hyūga of his choosing. Hiashi-sama spoke vehemently against Haru-sama, but it became obvious during the verbal scuffle that Hiashi-sama doesn't have full control over our clan."

"What happened?"

"Hinata-sama wanted to go through with the spar. Your interactions with her earlier today affected her a lot, Uzumaki-san; I don't know what you said, nor do I have any business knowing, but her courage seemed to have increased a hundredfold.

"Unfortunately, the spar was a disaster." Naruto grimaced at Tokuma's words. "The branch member Haru chose to face her was Masaru." Naruto's eyes flashed red for a second. Tokuma was taken aback by the reaction, but quickly calmed himself. "Hiashi-sama was forced to activate Masaru's Kago no Tori no Juin to end the match when Masaru grew too aggressive. He will be cremated tomorrow."

Naruto took a few steps back, shaking in both anger and shock. Hiashi had already killed a Hyūga? Did _anyone_ in his inner circle have any patience whatsoever? And how was witnessing the killing going to affect Hinata, who hated the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu?

"Hinata-sama did not witness the incident," Tokuma added a little too quickly after watching Naruto's reaction. "She passed out from her injuries just before Hiashi-sama activated Masaru's seal and is expected to be bedridden for most of tomorrow. She will need assistance to travel to Hokage Tower for her ninja registration, but should recover in time for team assignments."

"That bastard," Naruto growled, his eyes turning red again. The snippet of his memory of the Hyūga Massacre where he killed the Head Elder was the most vivid part of the memory. Naruto knew it was because Haru was the second time (Orochimaru being the first) he had ever _enjoyed_ killing someone, which had frightened him to no end. He hadn't needed to use Negative Emotions Sensing to feel the true depth of the oldest Hyūga's malice. He had just...known that Haru had fallen too far into evil to be spared, and had reveled in ending the elder's life. "I'm gonna kill Haru!"

"That would be an unwise course of action, Uzumaki-san," Tokuma warned him.

"How is it unwise to save your clan by killing the people who threaten it from within?" Naruto asked in reply, eyes still red. He then took a deep breath, but he was still shaking with anger; he knew it was too strong to allow his appearance to return to normal while they were still having this conversation. "Tokuma-san, since you already know I'm from the future, and since you're the only Hyūga besides Hiashi-sama I can trust right now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, switching to Hokage Mode. "About seven years from now, Haru and some of the other Hyūga elders exile Hiashi-sama from the clan and become far more aggressive in enforcing your clan's stupid traditions. The backlash from their power seizure increases the resent and hatred from the Branch House, and six years after the elders' coup, the Branch is on the verge of rebellion. Hatake Kakashi-san, who becomes Rokudaime Hokage, orders me to destroy the Hyūga. I end up killing about half of the clan, sparing only four Main House members besides you and Hiashi-sama, who is reinstated as clan head after I find and confront him."

"Hiashi-sama would not have allowed what you claim happens to happen," Tokuma protested, somehow remaining calm under Naruto's enraged stare.

"The Hiashi you know wouldn't. The Hiashi I saw in the future had to get his shit together before he could go back to being the Hiashi you know. But I don't blame him for falling as far as he did. I mean, how would _you_ react, if you lost both your daughters in war, then lost your eyes to an insane distant cousin hellbent on using those eyes to kill the planet?" Naruto let the question hang and stew in Tokuma's head as he performed a Shunshin to quickly vacate the training grounds and return to his apartment. Better that the Tokubetsu Jōnin not have a chance to question The Once and Future Hokage before he's had time to consider the revelation left to him.

Better still that Naruto could abandon the topic before it caused him even more pain. The Hyūga Massacre and the meteor storm Toneri inflicted on the world were two of the nightmares which plagued him, occasionally overtaking the dominant memory of watching Hinata painfully succumb to the Chakura Kusari no Jutsu which devastated the Konoha survivors of the Fourth Shinobi World War. They constantly reminded him of how much he'd changed when the war ended, of how far he'd fallen from grace.

Naruto almost teared up when the reminder of his constant nightmares reared its ugly head. This time, he managed to keep his emotions in check. He reminded himself that the memories were _only_ memories now, memories of what would never happen in this timeline. He focused on the sliver of hope he'd held onto for the past ten years—a hope that was no longer a false hope—and purged all negative thoughts from his mind. For tonight, at least, he would not allow his memories to take dominion over his dreams.

He didn't remember the last time he'd tried to go to bed before 2000 hours, but he figured that he could attempt it just this once. While this day had been spiritually rejuvenating to a certain extent, it was also mentally exhausting.

_"Kurama, can you help me out here?"_ Naruto asked his tenant the instant the telepathic link between them was reactivated. _"I can't afford to have any nightmares tonight."_

**_"I honestly don't know,"_** Kurama replied. **_"It will depend on how much your subconscious wants to cooperate with my influence. But I will try."_**

_"Arigatō."_ Naruto took off his tracksuit, leaving him in his black shirt and ramen-themed boxers. The instant he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, Kurama held true to its word and chose a specific dream for Naruto. His eyes almost snapped open right away when he recognized the dream.

Every now and then, instead of his usual nightmares, sometimes Naruto would dream of the future he could have had with Hinata in the first timeline, if Sasuke had not taken her from him. His dream was centered in a high-rise apartment, often during the winter. He would perform light taijutsu exercises on the balcony before their two children noticed that he returned home and proceeded to glomp him, ignoring Hinata's motherly protests. But Hinata would stop knitting and get up from her chair to give their whole family a giant hug of her own before the oldest child initiated more playful activities, usually a snowball fight.

This dream hurt Naruto even more than the nightmares each time it occurred. It was an infinitely painful reminder that fate had seen fit to deny him what his heart needed the most. But the worst pain of all when he dreamed that dream was the feeling of hope that swelled in his heart each time the dream recurred, hope that he could still make the dream become real.

Maybe tonight, that dream would stop hurting him, now that he had his chance.

Hinata—protecting her, training her, healing her, _loving her_—was more than just the fourth objective in Naruto's plan (and he hated himself for being cold enough to classify her as an objective in The Plan); the hope that he could finally be with her if enough things went right this time was the only thing that kept him truly alive. The rest of the plan gave him a purpose that kept his body and mind functioning, but she was what kept his soul from falling into an abyss from where even he couldn't escape. If he lost her again, he wasn't sure if he would have the will to keep living once the rest of his plan came to fruition. And even if he did keep the will, he wasn't sure if he should be allowed to keep living.

But even if things went better this time, would the pain in his eyes ever fade away?

* * *

Technique List for Chapter 5:

Chibaku Tensei: Heavenly Body Bursting from the Earth

Henge no Jutsu: Transformation Technique

Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu / Kago no Tori no Juin: Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique / Caged Bird Cursed Seal

Kagura Shingan: Mind's Eye of the Divine Entertainment

Kawarimi no Jutsu: Body Replacement Technique

Shinshu: Mind Seed. Ino implants a mental command into the target's mind in the form of a subconscious compulsion, which can be activated with either a second Yamanaka jutsu or a predetermined stimuli. Credit for this technique goes to Solvdrage.

**A/N: And there we go, Part 5 of the Reintroduction Arc. Delay was triggered by a combination of the frustration of having the NaruHina interactions refuse to write themselves along with numerous other sections (primarily Shino's taijutsu), the release of The Last, and doing editing work for another author (just don't swarm me with beta requests, everyone!), conspiring to trigger major procrastination. Yes, as you can see with this post, I managed to get as tired of my procrastinating as some of you were with waiting. At least for now.**

**I'm not sure yet how many chapters it'll take to get to Wave after the next chapter deals with the aftermath of the graduation exams plus team assignments. Many of you may be accustomed to getting the Wave arc out of the way as quickly as possible, as it is a done to death story arc, but I have no intention of sacrificing character development for the sake of advancing the plot more quickly. Also, I have no intention of letting it be just another "cookie cutter" Wave arc once I get there.**

**For those who still disagree with Naruto not wanting to steal the scroll again, keep in mind: there are lie detectors based on retinal scans. They're an actual thing. It is not unrealistic for Sarutobi to know Naruto is lying to him just by looking into his eyes, especially given his experience.**

**For better or worse, recent canon has influenced this story. The last scene of this chapter incorporated some of the scenes I've seen in The Last: Naruto the Movie and made Toneri one of the background threats to worry about and as a result, Naruto's priorities have been adjusted somewhat, partially invalidating a review response included in Chapter 4's A/N. Chapter 2 was also edited a little bit to account for one of the new details revealed in this chapter.**

**So last chapter had mixed reviews (just as this chapter probably will). It may seem convoluted to some of you, but you'll have to just trust me on this. I didn't do this to Sakura to push her out of the way and focus more on other characters. I have plans for the cursed seal, ya know.**

**Regarding the misquote at the end of Chapter 1 – this was done deliberately as a reference to every fanfic ever that's made the Uzumaki Clan vindictive, made them possess a special kind of anger. Also, I'm pretty sure Naruto isn't hetero, homo, or bi-sexual at this point, but rather, Hinata-sexual, so even if Hinata was genderbent to make this slash, would that really stop Naruto from loving her (him)?**

**Regarding characterization issues with Naruto – while he'll still have plenty of "out of character" moments, particularly with his speech patterns, the goal here is to make him slowly become more in character as the story progresses and his wounds start healing.**

**And regarding Tokuma and my liberties in making him Main House – I admit my theory is flimsy, but literally the only thing I have to go off of based on visual evidence, since the databooks don't say whether Tokuma is Main or Branch (the ONLY Hyūga explicitly stated to be Branch House IIRC are Hizashi and Neji, although it's a safe assumption that Natsu is also Branch), is whether a Hyūga wore the standard hitai-ite or had a bandana. It was my idea that the Main House males donned the bandana when deployed, while the Branch House wore the standard hitai-ite. So yeah, Tokuma is Main House in this. Even if he was Branch, Hiashi would want the seal to come off him ASAP, and it's more convenient for this story to have the seal not be there in the first place than to mention its removal in a future chapter.**

**Review Responses:**

**Leaf Ranger – Aside from your doubts which I addressed via PM, I must confess to an instance of failing to do my research. According to the Wikia, Kizashi's official rank is Genin. He may be Anbu in _An Uzumaki Scorned,_ but he's not _official_ Anbu (there's the official Anbu, and then there's ROOT) – but Sakura didn't know that. More on that should be explained next chapter.**

**casual reader (guest) – I would kindly ask that you read Chapters 2 and 4 again. Ino is married to Sai, AND SHE TOOK HIS MEMORIES WITH HER, so that's the first strike against a Naru/Hina/Ino threesome. Naruto has zero tolerance for betrayal on any level in this story, and infidelity is one of the worst forms betrayal can take. Naruto would also be guilty of that form of betrayal if he broke his promise to Hinata by letting other girls get involved with him. Plus, this Naruto is broken to a certain extent and Ino is incapable of healing his mental and emotional wounds. Yes, Ino is fiercely loyal to Naruto, and she's the person Naruto trusts the most, but she's his lieutenant, not a possible love interest. End of discussion. Also keep in mind Ino is disgusted with herself for being forced to maintain the act of appearing obsessed with Sasuke in this chapter, before you point that scene out.**

**Recommendations, since it's about time we get those out of the way:**

**1) (Rated M – On Hiatus) "Stalker" by hinatasgreatestfan. There's a bit of a short story behind this rec. As I mentioned above, I recently started editing work for another author on this site. Two of the chapters I had to edit included lemony content. That's when I realized just how much of an influence this little gem has had on me as a writer. Anyway, the ficlet, which is only four chapters long thus far, centers around a special bond created by Naruto between him and Hinata during the Chūnin Exams by means of the "blood vow." Be warned, the first chapter contains what is possibly the only truly innocent lemon on this site.**

**2) (Rated T, but possible M later – In Progress) "Master of Jiongu" by The Dark Dragon Emperor. Lately, I've been having mixed feelings about this one, due to certain directions the story took in the Chūnin Exams. As the title gives away, this is a fanfic that gives Naruto the very rare Jiongu kinjutsu. But if you're not a fan of threesomes, Fū, or certain fanon tropes, namely the civilians and the Sasuke/Sakura bashing (which, thankfully, will get toned down as the fic progresses), then this may not be the fic for you.**

**3) (Rated T – Complete) "The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team" by Dame Namor. Think "Naruto meets WWE" and let the hilarity ensue as a post-war Naruto takes on the Chūnin Exams with the best and most overpowered Genin team ever. This three-shot is pure humor and pure win. The only notable flaw is that the romantic sub-plot with Hinata might come off as unnecessary, and I probably would have recommended this fic even if it was a genfic and not NaruHina (though I would not have read it if Naruto or Hinata were paired with anyone else). Also, I completely agree with the author's rants about Road to Ninja and a certain OVA.**

**4) (Rated M – In Progress) "Naruto's Flirtatious Feline" by agitosgirl. It's got Neko!Hinata. It's got a bold, confident Neko!Hinata. It's got a Neko!Hinata who can't keep her hands, mouth or tail off Naruto, which leads to yummy smut. What more do you need?**

**Next chapter: _Entrenched in Shadows__._ The reason for Shino's anger is explained, Inoichi is debriefed by Hiruzen on the exam results, and other stuff.**

**One last note: If anyone's interested, I have a pair of challenges on my profile. I was waiting to advertise them until I felt I'd accumulated enough readers to be more confident in some of you showing possible interest.**

**NOW it's safe to review again. *disappears for who knows how long***


	6. Chapter 6: Entrenched in Shadows

_Chapter 6_

_Entrenched in Shadows_

_Hokage Mansion – January 22, 996 A.C. – 1430 hours_

The past thirty hours had been filled with one unwelcome surprise after another for Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage.

Whenever he wasn't busy with paperwork, assigning missions or either attending or conducting important meetings with major figures in Hi no Kuni, the Professor would spend his available time either reading the latest _Icha Icha_ novel from Jiraiya or observing Uzumaki Naruto through his crystal ball with the Tōmegane no Jutsu. However, when he first walked into his office yesterday he found that the ball had been rendered inert and no longer usable. This caused him to fly off the handle and delve into a rage for most of the next hour. The Uzumaki—no, the weapon; Naruto was just a weapon—needed to be kept under constant surveillance, but someone had seen fit to eliminate the most important element to accomplish that. There was no evidence left behind by the intruder…no writing, no fingerprints, no DNA samples, no stray strands of fiber from the intruder's clothing, and no chakra residue. Nothing was stolen or out of place, aside from the damage to the ball and with no leads available, identifying the culprit was going to be a daunting task.

The invasion of his office also exposed some glaring security problems. Sarutobi bemoaned the lack of video surveillance present in the Hokage Mansion. While there were security cameras in Konoha, specifically Training Ground 44 aka The Forest of Death, their capabilities were currently limited and furthermore, they were difficult to keep secure. For whoever managed to break into his office, disabling the feed or redirecting it to an alternate location would be child's play.

But Sarutobi noted that aside from relocating his office, there was little he could do at this time to address the issue. What he could do immediately, was already done. Sarutobi pulled several Anbu from their regular duties and reactivated the surveillance that was once kept on Naruto when he was younger, having the number of Anbu spying on him tripled from the original detail to compensate for losing the ability to keep his own eyes on the weapon. Not that it would do as much good as he liked, seeing as Naruto was notorious for his ability to elude the Anbu for several hours at a time, but it would at least mitigate the damage for the time being, until the crystal ball was replaced with something less vulnerable.

The next surprise came later that evening, when the grades for the final exams were delivered to his office. One specific student's performance, Haruno Sakura, stood out immediately. The Haruno girl, who had the highest written scores out of everyone in her class and was the highest-rated kunoichi due to her book smarts, had _failed_ the final exam. Even though she was permitted a retake this morning, and passed the retake with flying colors, this initial failure automatically caused her to forfeit the rank of Top Kunoichi to Hyūga Hinata.

Any ninja worth their chakra didn't believe in coincidences, and the Professor was no exception. He strongly suspected that whoever destroyed his crystal ball also sneaked a peek at the academic records for this year's graduating class. This would have possibly limited the number of suspects for yesterday's early morning break-in to just a handful of individuals. But there was another issue that complicated things.

Umino Iruka cited medical reasons as the explanation for Sakura's inability to complete the graduation exam, and allowed her to retake the test after medic-nin confirmed she had sufficiently recovered. Yamanaka Inoichi further clarified that the "medical reason" was a juinjutsu activation roughly four hours before class started that required his immediate intervention to save the Haruno girl's mind.

Only one person in all of Konoha could have put that cursed seal on Haruno Sakura, and that person was a very specific member of Shimura Danzō's ROOT program.

After reminding Danzō of the consequences of stepping out of line earlier in the day, and informing Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki that Sakura would be removed from their custody and placed under Inoichi as a ward of the Yamanaka Clan, the Sandaime paid a visit to Naruto's apartment along with elite Jōnin Hatake Kakashi, who was informed that he would be given Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to test, but that there were certain complications regarding which potential kunoichi-in-training would be assigned to Team Seven which had yet to be resolved. Kakashi was ordered to pass Team Seven, to which he'd responded he would do so only if they deserve to be passed. Hiruzen simply repeated his orders, stressing the "importance" of obeying his commands.

_Translation: You will pass these __g__enin no matter how they perform. And you will not question my authority again. _

When Hiruzen and Kakashi stepped inside the apartment and learned that Naruto had actually done his chores for once, the Sandaime was not particularly amused. It was another coincidence he had to consider. He suspected that Naruto could have been the one to sneak into his office yesterday, attempting to pull a prank on him, but there were holes in that theory. It didn't explain why Naruto would only break his ball and look at grades without snooping around elsewhere, or why he didn't attempt to sabotage Sasuke's performance on the practical exams and make him forfeit the title of Rookie of the Year.

Hiruzen shrugged it off for now. The loss of the ball was major, but at this point in time there weren't any signals being given off that would make the investigation more urgent. Besides, he was seconds away from beginning his debriefing of Inoichi, to delve into the details of yesterday's incident with Sakura and resolve the team placement issue. Perhaps some of the responses to his final decision would aid him in solving this mystery.

"Inoichi-san," the Sandaime said, "on the grade reports for yesterday's final exams, you commented that Haruno Sakura was suffering from the effects of a juinjutsu. First off, would you care to explain why she was allowed to attend class?"

"Well, Hokage-sama, some of the Academy students who just became potential genin are quite stubborn, and Sakura-chan is no exception," Inoichi replied. "She was determined to push through, or at least try. To tell the truth, I didn't want to see her get held back another year or dropped from the ninja program because this incident caused her to miss the test. Her potential notwithstanding, it would have broken the hearts of at least two of her classmates."

"You refer to Uzumaki Naruto and your daughter Ino, correct?"

"Correct. Sadly, she still failed the exam but if I had stopped her from attempting to take it, Iruka-san probably wouldn't have consulted with the Headmaster to gain permission to give her a makeup test. What I did was unprofessional and a risk to Sakura-chan's health, but if I hadn't let her attend, missing the test would have likely cost us a kunoichi who has the potential to surpass Tsunade-sama of the _Densetsu no Sannin."_

Sarutobi briefly stared down the Yamanaka patriarch with a hard look in his aged eyes, meant to unnerve. "You took a calculated risk, Inoichi-san. Consider yourself fortunate that your actions do not appear to have backfired."

"I do, Hokage-sama," Inoichi replied, nodding and suppressing the urge to gulp. The Sandaime lit up his tobacco pipe before continuing.

"Now then, you claim that Sakura's potential is greater than that of my former student, Tsunade. If I were to ignore this mishap and stick to my original plan for team placements, she would be paired with Naruto and Sasuke, each also with the potential to surpass the Sannin, to form a specialized heavy assault unit. What do you think of this team formation?"

Inoichi took a deep breath to stop his thoughts from straying. "Permission to speak frankly, Hokage-sama?"

"Granted."

"That formation is a mistake. Those three will have no synergy and will struggle more to achieve adequate levels of teamwork than the other teams, assuming they pass. You may believe that it is necessary to team Naruto-san and Sasuke-san together in an attempt to get Sasuke-san to move on from the events of the Uchiha Massacre, and I have no solid argument against that, though I will point out there's a great risk that the rivalry between Naruto-san and Sasuke-san may take a turn for the worse and grow violent, rather than more friendly, if they are paired together. However, I believe Sakura-chan's interactions with them will be a much bigger threat to the team, one great enough to cause the team to fail the secondary test and be held back."

"Explain why Sakura is the weak link that may cause Team Seven's career to end in disaster."

"Sakura-chan has a long fangirl streak, like all female students in the Academy save one. She basically coasted through as far as she did on only her written grades, and has neglected her practical training in favor of attempting to attract Sasuke-san. Her..._obsession_ with Sasuke-san is definitely more fanatic than most. She is further distinguished by her history of violence towards Naruto-san. In order for the Uzumaki, Haruno and Uchiha to achieve their full potential, the Haruno must be placed on a team that does not include the Uzumaki or Uchiha, so that her commanding officer will be able to break her of that streak."

"You are suggesting that I uphold the tradition of teaming the Rookie of the Year and Top Kunoichi with the Dead Last, knowing that Hinata surpassed Sakura in class standing due to the results of the final exams," Hiruzen stated, setting down his pipe. "I have been informed by various sources that Hinata has romantic feelings for Naruto. How will her inclusion on Team Seven not be as much of a disaster as you imply Sakura's will?"

Inoichi repressed the urge to smirk. He knew he was about to play some compromising cards, but he also knew he had the Hokage cornered. "If you are suggesting that a different kunoichi be selected over Sakura-chan and Hinata-san for placement on Team Seven, then remind yourself of this. Every kunoichi in the current graduating class except for Hinata-san has conformed to peer pressure. Every single one is obsessed with Sasuke-san, perhaps not to the same degree as Sakura-chan but enough that they _will_ wreck the entire team, both by neglecting their own training and by refusing to cooperate with Naruto-san. I can promise you right now that Team Seven _will_ fail its secondary test if Hinata-san is not selected as its female member, and I can also promise you that should they fail, it _will_ be devastating to both Naruto-san and Sasuke-san, who are already unstable enough as it is and may easily drive them both off the deep end. If the teachers at the Academy had done a better job of addressing this issue, we probably would not have made it this far in our argument. But that is a moot point. What matters is that they did not address the issue, and allowed it to fall into your lap.

"Hinata-san is the one kunoichi who has not conformed like the others, and it is my understanding that her feelings of admiration for Naruto-san are more genuine. Furthermore, I am aware of her...less than desirable upbringing in the Hyūga Clan, which has caused her to turn to Naruto-san for the support she has been denied by all others. She not only wishes to improve for his sake, she also seeks to gain the acknowledgment her clan has denied her. Unlike her fellow kunoichi, whose reasons for pursuing a career as kunoichi are superficial, Hinata-san actually has motivation to grow stronger. I believe that allowing her to be on the same team as her crush will be the most effective way to encourage her growth and to address her teammates' trust issues.

"I also ask you to consider what the presence of a Byakugan user would mean for Team Seven, which is set up as a heavy offensive unit. Hinata-san's dōjutsu would allow her team to locate enemy targets far more easily than if they lacked such a valuable tracking ability and also, since her clan is feared for their famous taijutsu style, the Jūken, Hinata-san is fully capable of adopting an offensive role and would not simply be relegated to support.

"While I understand this will deprive the tracker-heavy Team Eight of some of its firepower, the loss felt should only be temporary. Should Sakura-chan be pushed to utilize her chakra control abilities to their fullest, she may be able to replicate the _Chakra Enhanced Strength_ technique of Tsunade-sama. This would, in effect make her far stronger offensively than any Hyūga and would more than offset the initial loss.

"Also," Inoichi paused, playing the cards which would ensure Hiruzen folded, "should Hinata-san be placed on Team Seven instead of Sakura-chan, her Byakugan will not just be of benefit to Team Seven, Hokage-sama. Hinata-san's presence on the team can help keep the Kyūbi in check, whereas Sakura-chan's inclusion is more likely to cause the seal to weaken sooner. The Hyūga Clan's dōjutsu is uniquely suited for checking on the status of the seal that keeps the Kyūbi sealed inside Naruto at frequent intervals, and the way Hinata-san cares for the boy will give her a greater motivation to monitor the seal and protect his well-being more than any other Hyūga. And we both know Hinata-san already knows that Naruto-san has the Kyūbi sealed inside him, thanks to the carelessness of certain villagers from before she entered the Academy. And since Naruto-san himself is aware of his own burden, thanks to Mizuki's idiocy yesterday, should he discover that there is one person in his age group who also knows of his secret, one person in whom he can confide, it will only increase his motivation to improve and become a better ninja."

The Sandaime _growled_ in displeasure. It only takes one idiot to ruin the work of ten geniuses, and despite his efforts at culling their numbers, Konoha was still filled with its fair share of idiots who don't know how to keep their mouths shut. But he was more displeased with the fact that Inoichi had outmaneuvered him.

"While there are flaws in your argument, Inoichi-san, it is stronger than any rebuttal I can present at this time," Sarutobi stated. "Hinata will be placed on Team Seven, though there will be a fair number of jōnin who will be displeased with my decision. You are, of course, aware that this conversation does not leave this room."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

"I do not believe I will have any further need of your counsel this afternoon. You are dismissed."

Inoichi bowed and left his office, leaving Hiruzen to affect the changes he was sure he would regret later.

* * *

_Haruno Residence – 1810 hours_

In Haruno Kizashi's eyes, the pink walls in his and Mebuki's bedroom might as well have been painted in blood. He was seeing that much red after receiving the message that Danzō was deactivating him until further notice.

This was not the first time this had happened. There had been other instances where damage control was necessary after a botched operation or a sealing mishap. But this particular incident was very high-profile due to Inoichi's involvement, and the sensitive nature of the...information that may or may not have been revealed.

He didn't for a moment think that Fū had been lax with his work, or that he'd left an opening in the seal that could have been exploited but the fact of the matter is that it had been discovered—and now his daughter was in the custody of the Yamanaka. Inoichi now had all the time in the world to study and possibly find a way to undo the seal, undermining years of careful planning and manipulation on both he and his wife's part.

That simply couldn't be allowed. Kizashi didn't care that he was under additional scrutiny; he needed to have eyes kept on Sakura, which meant he had to get in touch with Fū. Kizashi reached under his bed and pulled out a small chest, which contained a special scroll used for long-distance communication. Such scrolls were always made in pairs, and Fū possessed its counterpart. Ever since his daughter had accidentally walked in on him five years ago, Haruno Kizashi and Yamanaka Fū had maintained a special relationship. They had worked together on several off-the-books missions since his daughter's sealing, until Fū was assigned Torune as his permanent partner. Even now, the fanatic Haruno and the exiled Yamanaka stayed in contact with each other, albeit infrequently.

The message was short and disappeared within seconds. Kizashi knew that despite his delicate situation, the reply from Fū would come in person, so he unsealed a tantō from a storage scroll and readied it in his left hand. He preferred using a whip, but he would be dead in seconds using a weapon like that in this situation.

Moments later, a swirl of leaves appeared in the bedroom and Kizashi parried Fū's forward slash, putting his associate on the defensive. A few more clashes of their blades and the skirmish ended. This was standard protocol for ROOT: when a messenger was sent to or summoned by you, your combat skills would be tested and if they were found lacking, you would be eliminated before receiving the message. Despite being a career genin, Kizashi's true abilities were on the same level as some of Konoha's elite jōnin, and if he were forced to reveal those abilities he would probably be able to hold his own for some time, even against swordsmen such as Gekkō Hayate and Maruboshi Kosuke.

"What was so important that you disregarded protocol to contact me, Kizashi-san?" the orange-haired Yamanaka demanded through his blank, white mask.

"Nice to see you too, Fū-kun," Kizashi replied, his tone jovial and not sarcastic. That was the mask he put on for the outside world. "As you already know, we have a problem with my daughter."

"Danzō-sama was most displeased after Hokage-sama confronted him over yesterday morning's incident," Fū said, removing his mask to reveal a fresh scar left on his upper left check by Danzō. "I am fortunate that he has yet to deem my skillset expendable."

"I would like to think Danzō-sama learned his lesson after his handling of Kabuto," Kizashi mused. It was no secret that Danzō, in the kindest words they dared use, had royally fucked up with the young orphan. He'd quickly been making a name for himself in the ranks of ROOT as an iryōjutsu prodigy and a master spy, and then the war hawk decided he was too good at his job for comfort.

In Kizashi's opinion, Kabuto should never have been allowed to join the Foundation in the first place, instead being relegated to the Medic Corps. And he knew the only reason Danzō hadn't cleaned up that particular mess was because he and Kabuto's current master, Orochimaru were still allies for the time being.

"Who knows," Fū shook his head. "In any case, I think you are overreacting to this mess with Sakura."

"My daughter poses a greater threat to our plans than Danzō-sama believes. She needs to be kept in check until such time as we can be certain there is no further need for the juinjutsu. I don't care what it takes. Get to her and fix that seal. And this time, make sure the modifications stick."

* * *

_Somewhere outside of Konoha – 2240 hours_

Just as Naruto predicted, the Anbu tails assigned to him increased as a result of his actions yesterday morning. However, once they were shaken off or called back he knew there wouldn't be anyone watching, leaving him free to do as he pleased. He'd taken full advantage of that opportunity early in the morning, sending dozens of Tōton Kage Bunshin out to the south and southwest of Konoha after waking up from an extremely rare eight hours of nightmare-free sleep to scout for places where he could build a safe house in the event that he and his most precious people were forced to flee the village. It took his clones all of ten hours, through moderate spamming of both the Shunshin and Hiraishin techniques to single out a possible hiding spot, and now the original wanted to verify what his clones' memories told him.

Naruto left a Kage Bunshin in his apartment to make it appear he was asleep in case the Anbu returned to their post while he was out. He also left a single-use Hiraishin tag so that he could return instantly once his task for the night was finished. Then he made ten more Kage Bunshin of the Tōton variety before activating the Tōton Jutsu on himself and jumping out his bedroom window, sneaking towards the village walls. Once he arrived there, Naruto applied chakra to his feet to walk right over them and outside the village. After he felt he'd walked far enough away from the walls, he dropped the invisibility cloak and used the Hiraishin no Jutsu to cover the rest of the distance to the marker his clones had left.

The location he arrived at was several kilometers away from the border of Kawa no Kuni, and about one and a half kilometers away from the southern coastline of Hi no Kuni. The forest growth was thicker than average here, with only a few clearings, which allowed him little room to utilize for intensive training, but conversely improved his chances of eluding any pursuers. There was a nearby river, which immediately took care of most sustenance issues in the event he had to remain camped up here for extended lengths of time and from this location, he could either continue west through Kawa no Kuni into Kaze no Kuni and seek asylum in Sunagakure, or cross the sea to enter Cha no Kuni, where he could gain passage to the southern continent and disappear for a long time.

Setting up shop near Kawa was a major risk, though. Naruto remembered that the Akatsuki had one of their hideouts located in that country, and if they discovered he was alone and so close to them, they would not hesitate to capture him. Furthermore, Kawa did have a hidden village (albeit a minor one), and any safe house built so close to the coastline would potentially be vulnerable to pirate raids. But his clones had decided the benefits of gaining a fast ticket off the continent outweighed the risk of attracting unwanted attention, so for now, he had little choice but to trust their judgment. Besides, setting up a sealing array to ward off most threats would be easy enough, if just a little time-consuming.

But first, he had to stop and take a huge breather. Using the Hiraishin to arrive here put a large amount of stress on his body, tearing some of his muscles and damaging a few tenketsu. Naruto gained an orange aura around his body while he slumped down against a tree, as he felt Kurama's chakra slowly repair the damage.

The healing chakra from his partner was flowing through him far too slow however, and he knew the reason why. But until he got the key for the Hakke no Fūin Shiki on his stomach, he'd have to be satisfied with what he had.

Maybe this would also be a decent enough place to train away from Konoha, at least while the safe house remained undiscovered. Being this far away from any towns, villages, or bandit camps, he could take advantage of the solitude to try to force more of Kurama's chakra through the seal, accelerating its weakening, as long as the sealing array he would set up here did its job and minimized the risk of detection.

_"Well, isn't that just great,"_ Naruto complained over the telepathic link. _"My body can't handle using Hiraishin to set up more than one safe house."_

_**"It was an expected complication,"**_ Kurama pointed out. _**"Your body isn't trained yet, after all, so the Hiraishin cannot be used freely for some time. If we're lucky, we won't need to scout for an alternate hideout, at least not until the mission to save Nami no Kuni comes along again."**_

_"But we can't just keep relying on luck, Kurama!"_

_**"Maybe we wouldn't be so dependent on chance if you'd taken more time before leaving the future to actually plan out these contingencies rather than focus so much on the endgame."**_

Naruto was not in the mood for their usual banter this evening. _"If all you're gonna do is nag me over what I already know, then shut up."_ His bijū listened for once, and just focused on fixing Naruto up enough to let him make the return trip without causing himself any long-term damage as long as the Hiraishin was only used sparingly afterward. But Kurama made its point, and Naruto knew it. The decision to travel back in time, while ultimately the best decision had been made impulsively, without giving himself sufficient opportunity to consider some of the kinks in his plan.

The forest area near Kawa gave Naruto a lot of natural resources to utilize to aid with a possible escape. On his own, at full charge he had enough chakra—though he'd have to tap into Kurama's—to water walk from the coast all the way to the peninsula, but as an Uzumaki and a jinchūriki, he was unique in that regard. No one else in his inner circle would be able to make that same walk across the sea to avoid pursuers. But with the years of experience he'd accumulated in the future, living off the land in Kaminari no Kuni when he wasn't assisting Darui during his military campaigns, it wouldn't be too much of a problem for him to cut down a few trees and make a boat large enough to carry all of his closest people to Cha along with enough supplies to last them for several months, in the event that they couldn't save Hi no Kuni.

Naruto spent the better part of half an hour propped up against the tree, enveloped in the orange shroud. He gazed at the moon for a few moments, then turned his face away from the sky and screwed his eyes shut. He couldn't let himself think about the artificial satellite that represented the greatest potential calamity for his world. He had to believe he still had a few years before needing to deal with that issue. Also, the very idea that there was someone living _inside_ the moon, someone who could use the moon to end his whole world at any given moment, was still completely absurd even to him despite the fact he'd fought and killed that person before, and would eventually have to do so again.

Once he felt he could move without difficulty, he pushed himself to his feet and walked several meters away from the tree he'd rested against, then formed the Tiger seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called out; while he was used to not making hand seals for his signature technique anymore, using the Kage Bunshin without hand seals also required him to spend more chakra to maintain that level of focus, and though his reserves were absurdly high even at twelve, Naruto needed to make every last drop of chakra count tonight. He'd already divided his reserves down to less than ten percent _before_ punishing his untrained body on the Hiraishin trip out of Konoha, and while Kurama's boost had replenished a large amount of his chakra by now, the work he needed to do tonight ensured he would not be fully recharged until close to sunrise.

Four copies of Naruto stood beside him. All five of them were already forming more hand seals and channeling Wind chakra for their next technique. "Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu!" they exclaimed in unison, creating several large blades of wind and launching them at the trees. They hadn't overloaded the technique...okay, they did overload it but not by _that_ much. Still, the blades were three times larger than normal. About fifteen seconds later, Naruto and his clones had to cover their ears to dull the sound of a few dozen trees crashing to the ground.

"Finish cutting up those trees and then bring the logs and branches to that clearing over there," Naruto commanded, pointing his finger at a spot roughly thirty meters to his right. All four Kage Bunshin consumed a soldier pill before making more Kage Bunshin to assist them in the assigned task. One of the nicer things about the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was that it also cloned any and all tools and supplies on the user's body when it was cast, so instead of having to toss out a soldier pill to each of his clones, they could simply reach into their own ninja tool pouches and pop a duplicated pill, and still receive the temporary chakra boost. But Naruto didn't dare consume any soldier pills from any of his clones. The side effects from doing so were far more dangerous and easily fatal.

Naruto walked over to the clearing he indicated to his clones and examined it. Once he was satisfied, he began making hand seals for an Iwagakure technique he hadn't known how to perform until this last afternoon, when he ran into Ino (who also gave him other vital supplies for this evening's task which were procured by Inoichi) while Konohamaru was pestering him for training. Another reason why Ino was so valuable to The Plan: her ability to replicate and transfer memories at will made her able to teach almost any ninjutsu she wanted to almost anyone in a matter of seconds. Including Naruto, who was known for his tactile learning and had a much harder time learning things if he wasn't given a physical demonstration.

"Doton: Chidōkaku!" Naruto called out, slamming his hands to the ground, channeling his chakra to force a square section of the ground twenty meters in length and width to sink about three meters. Since he lost his Earth affinity during the journey through time and it was his first time using this technique, he ended up spending more than twice the minimum required amount of chakra. For Naruto, it was still a relatively minor expenditure.

"Hurry up with those logs, everyone!" he shouted at his clones, which now numbered at forty. "We have a hideout to build and only a few hours to get it built!"

"Yes, sir!" the clones all answered. Naruto just shook his head at their peculiar quirks and mannerisms, which he never could manage to suppress completely.

* * *

_Hyūga Compound – 2305 hours_

While Naruto was busy constructing a safe house outside of Konoha, eight of the ten Tōton Kage Bunshin he left behind were carrying out their assigned task of keeping the Hyūga Clan under surveillance. While he did not dare to enter the compound himself uninvited, at least not yet, he knew he had to keep a close eye on the situation within its walls, especially after last night. The forced spar between Hinata and the now-deceased Masaru had been unanticipated and demonstrated that perhaps the situation with the clan in the past was even worse than he remembered. He noted the possibility that he would have to accelerate the timetable for eliminating the elders who aligned themselves with Hiruzen and Danzō and subduing the rest of the Main House.

Only one of the clones was actually inside the main complex. The other seven were busy brainstorming ideas for a sealing array that would allow them to know everything that went on in there at all times. Before Naruto could take any action, he had to be absolutely certain of who was guilty and who was innocent. The last time around, he'd been forced to kill far too many Hyūga. This time, he would ensure that only those who actually deserved to die were killed.

Naruto didn't believe that the entire elder council was allied with the Sandaime's regime and ROOT. It simply didn't make sense. Informing that many individuals of their plans would guarantee a leak to the wrong people. No, out of the seven elders, Naruto believed only three at most would actually be knowledgeable about the secrets contained inside the Sandaime's black book. The others would fall into one of two categories: those who could be swayed by reason (and would be spared and allowed to retain some of their influence), and those who were too set in their ways and would still attempt to lead the clan to ruin (and would need to be dealt with creatively, but preferably without lethal measures). There was no doubt whatsoever that Haru was among the guilty parties. But Naruto and Hiashi could take no action against the elders until the other conspirators were identified and the proof of their crimes was irrefutable.

Any attack launched against the Sandaime's regime had to meet two core requirements. First, the obvious: under no circumstances could there be even a remote chance of an enemy's death being traced back to Naruto or anyone in his inner circle, or trigger any sort of counter-measure against them. Each strike had to trigger discord in the Sandaime's regime and turn it against itself, like a snake that eats its own tail. Sadly, this rendered a large amount of the resources Ino and Hiashi could access unusable. And second, under no circumstances could any attack be allowed to claim even a single innocent life unless collateral damage was absolutely unavoidable. Aside from those guilty of knowing the Sandaime's schemes and willingly participating in them, Naruto still considered _every_ life in Konoha precious.

The sealing array the clones were tasked to come up with was more complex than any Naruto had designed until now, and once it was finished, it would be the most powerful he'd ever designed. The basic unit in this array was simply called the Kansatsu Fūin, and the concept was borrowed from the memory transfer ability of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. If the seal worked as planned, it would be invisible to normal eyes and undetectable by the Sharingan, Byakugan and most standard sensor types, which meant Naruto could put almost any place he wanted under video and audio surveillance without anyone ever knowing. But if it _didn't_ work and the seals were detected, it was either get out of Konoha before they figured out he placed the seals, or get locked up and hope someone busted him free before Hiruzen acquired another Uzumaki and he was executed via bijū extraction for espionage.

The main issue which hindered Naruto was figuring out _where_ to send the collected data. If he simply had the receiver array the seals were linked to inscribed on another scroll, it would be absurdly long. Like kilometers upon kilometers long. That meant he'd have to put it inside a pocket dimension, which meant using Kamui. But there were multiple reasons why he couldn't get Kakashi involved in this part of The Plan, the most important being that if Kakashi used Kamui to store the receiver array Obito, and by extension the Akatsuki would also have access to the seals and any data collected. Present technology also prohibited Naruto from linking the sealing array to anything else that could store the data, since computers had not advanced to the point where he had come from in the future, where storage issues would not be a problem. The clones outside the compound figured Naruto's best bet would be to create an entirely new technique based off the Kanchi Suikyū or the Gentōshin no Jutsu to receive real-time data from the seals. This would have the flaw of requiring Naruto to have at least three Kage Bunshin operating the feed at all times (at least until the Yamanaka Clan was cleansed), but it would also allow him to reduce scroll usage to a more reasonable level.

The clone inside the compound made his way to the sixth floor, creating another Tōton Kage Bunshin each time he climbed a flight of stairs to expedite the completion of his first task. While the other clones were busy designing the surveillance seals, this one had two tasks that required infiltration. First was determining which parts of the Hyūga complex took priority once the seals were ready to be applied, as he strongly doubted he would be able to bug the entire compound in one night.

Putting all of the clan's common areas under surveillance, especially the dojos and meeting halls, was an obvious must—as was doing the same for the living quarters for the clan's "first family", Haru, Hiashi, Hanabi, and most importantly, Hinata.

...And all of that clone's thought processes which were centered on the surveillance seals came to an abrupt stop the moment Hinata entered his thoughts. But that was the advantage of being a Kage Bunshin: once he dispelled, the other clones would easily be able to pick up the slack. Also, the sudden shift in his mindset was necessary to complete his second task. Between dealing with Konohamaru, dodging his newly reacquired Anbu tail, and locating potential hideaways, Naruto hadn't been able to answer Hiashi's summons today. The Hyūga patriarch understood that Naruto had been hit with these complications, but both he and Naruto were greatly worried about last night's spar and how Masaru's final act of brutality would affect his eldest daughter's psyche. Still, Naruto needed to wait until nightfall, when the risk of detection was minimal, to send a clone inside the compound so he could heal Hinata and attempt to dispel some of her suspicions.

Cloneruto climbed the last flight of stairs, arriving outside Hinata's room on the sixth floor. When the boss had first learned that Hinata was so isolated from the rest of the clan, he had been saddened, but in moments like this it was accepted as a small blessing. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about most of the roving patrols and could remain as inconspicuous as possible with his comings and goings.

He gently pressed his hand against the door and slid it open, careful not to rouse anyone. Normally he would have knocked quietly, but he didn't expect Hinata to be awake after the beating she took—she'd be sleeping off the pain. As the light from the hallway cast itself on the bed, he saw he was right. Hinata was facing away from her door, lying on her side with the covers tucked up to her chest. She sported an ugly bruise on her left cheek and her face showed an expression of pain Naruto never wanted to see.

"I should've been there for you, Hinata," Cloneruto said softly, with a few tears falling from his eyes as the Tōton Jutsu deactivated. Hinata seemed to be able to register his words, because as soon as they left his mouth, her eyes flickered open.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, too tired to question why he was in her bedroom this time.

"Shh...just go back to sleep, okay?" Hinata nodded and closed her eyes, and smiled when Cloneruto gently caressed her shoulder with his right hand. She looked a lot more peaceful now. The clone realized his presence alone had managed to dispel her nightmares, and if his soothing presence for her was anything like the boss's experience sleeping with her yesterday morning, he knew she wouldn't be having any more nightmares tonight.

Once the clone was certain Hinata wouldn't wake up again until sunrise, he carefully set a scroll down on her nightstand, and then sat down on the bed beside her, hovering his hands over her face. They started glowing an eerie orange, as the clone channeled what little amount of Kurama's chakra he could access towards Hinata. The bijū's chakra seeped into her being, and almost instantly soothed her sore muscles and healed all of the bruises she accumulated from her spar yesterday. The Hakke no Fūin Shiki might have been restored, but it had no effect on Naruto's ability to mold and adapt the portion of Kurama's chakra he could still use without triggering the safeguards Minato programmed into the seal and make it non-toxic. This was the only reason Ino hadn't also implanted the knowledge of Shōsen Jutsu inside Naruto's head when she gave him the Doton techniques he needed to help construct his safe house. Well, that and he'd more or less always been unfit to learn iryōjutsu, but having Kurama as a healing battery pretty much negated any need for Naruto to learn iryōjutsu anyway, as the Kyūbi's regenerative powers easily surpassed the abilities of most medical ninja.

With the second task now finished, Cloneruto dispelled and left Hinata to her dreams. And not a moment too soon, as Hisoka had noticed the orange glow coming from Hinata's bedroom during her evening rounds and decided to investigate.

_How strange,_ the maid thought, seeing no one else inside the bedroom. She activated her Byakugan and observed traces of foreign chakra inside Hinata's circulatory network, but they were rapidly disappearing and had no adverse effect on her. Hisoka let it be for now, but she would be asking Hiashi about what she saw once he was awake and summoned her to his office.

* * *

_Aburame clan grounds – 2330 hours_

The rage Shino felt towards Naruto had lingered in his system for several hours after yesterday's exams ended, forcing him to stay out much later than his kinsmen expected. He hadn't returned to the compound until his father, Shibi personally retrieved him from an abandoned training ground. When Shibi had questioned him about why he had been away for so long, Shino gave the excuse that he'd required complete solitude to enhance his calm after being troubled by specific events, but offering no detail that would enable Shibi to identify those events, and assured him that the problem had been addressed. Which was a complete lie, since the problem had not been addressed, but the rage had dissipated enough that Shibi didn't call him out on the lie. The stoic Aburame had never been so ticked off, even including the extra fifteen years his new memories told him would be eroded away by the ripples in the time stream, as he was by receiving those memories and learning the reasons why they were forced on him.

Even his future self had not wanted to participate in the scheme to rectify what the Uzumaki's inner circle believed were a series of grave imbalances. He—or rather, his future self—had seen the points they made, but his acceptance of the role given to him had come reluctantly. Part of his current opposition to participation was wariness of his own clan. Unlike the Yamanaka, the Aburame hadn't been devastated in the future to the point that thorough research on the clan by Naruto and his allies was impossible, so there wasn't any evidence to support his future self's suspicions. But regardless, now that he had the memories, something didn't feel right. But most of it was anger towards Naruto. Anger and confusion, the latter bolstering the former.

Though the revelation of certain events in the future didn't help matters either, and that didn't account for the grudges his future self held against the Uzumaki.

The Rinnegan, the Jūbi, the Rikudō Sennin? To learn that these were not myths, but actually existed at certain points in history? Shino would have called the notions absurd had the memories not slammed into him with the force of a rampaging baku. He had been unprepared for the horrors of those memories, of a war that nearly destroyed the human species, even though Ino had put safeguards into the memory transfer which blocked out the worst parts until his mind adapted to them. And he hadn't reacted well to the forced acquisition of those memories.

Even in theory, time travel was a mind-boggling concept. The very idea that jikūkan ninjutsu could be taken that far if someone possessed sufficient power and talent was difficult even for an Aburame to process. Yet Naruto had proven it possible to put that theory into practice, and had also proven with his stunt that there were others who had also possessed the ability to swim through the time stream. To Naruto's credit, he had at least accepted the significance of tampering with time and acknowledged there would be unforeseen consequences, but to his _discredit,_ he did it anyway. And Shino just did not understand _why._ He did not understand why Naruto would play God for that briefest blink of the cosmic eye; he did not understand Naruto's motives behind erasing fifteen years of human history. And this lack of understanding made Shino furious.

But to say that Shino was furious with Naruto would be a severe understatement. The sheer _arrogance_ in the Uzumaki's stance that altering the destinies of millions in an instant could be justified, no matter how much the human species had suffered in the future, was simply incomprehensible to the Aburame. Both his inability to fathom Naruto's decision, and the decision itself fueled an extreme anger that would soon be considered legendary even by his own clan if it didn't abate.

Shino forced himself out of his family's living quarters and walked towards the clan's main meeting hall, seeking one of the entrances to the clan's tunnel network. Despite being one of the larger clans in Konoha as well as one of the village's three remaining "noble clans", the clan district was relatively small, at least above the surface. The reason for this was simple: Aburame Clan members tended to operate as part of a hive mind when grouped together. All of the important buildings in the district were built close to one another, with only the greenhouses having any significant separation from the bulk of the district's infrastructure.

The catacombs were generally not supposed to be used except in the event that Konoha was invaded. However, it was not out of the ordinary for lone clan members to be found down here when they wanted privacy. Shino's memories told him that he himself had made more than a few special excursions into the tunnels during his brief moments of reprieve in the future Naruto wanted to rewrite. But Shino drowned out those memories. He hated them even more than he hated the bad memories. Those precious few moments felt like little more than consolation prizes to him, even if his future self had cherished them.

Shino's blood suddenly ran cold. His kikaichū just picked up two chakra signatures along with the insect breeds their bodies housed, and he knew immediately that these two had absolutely no right to be on clan grounds. He knew they weren't acknowledged by the clan. And why? Because they had been handed over to ROOT. He'd even seen one of them actually volunteer for the program. But now they were here, and Shino knew he needed to find out why exactly.

Any thoughts of attempting to spy on the pair and learn their reasons for trespassing died a gruesome death when Shino's kikaichū detected a third chakra signature. He recoiled from the sudden realization brought on by this third presence. If _she_ was down here, entertaining these outcasts...

One quick Shunshin and Shino was no longer in the catacombs. He remained tense for almost an hour after the incident, until he could be certain that the trespassers had either not detected him, or more likely, had not paid any attention to him.

If the enemy was this deeply rooted in the shadows of Konoha and even his own clan...Shino knew he would have to learn to set aside his and his future self's issues with Naruto, and come to understand and sympathize with Naruto's need to destroy that enemy.

* * *

**And part six of the Reintroduction Arc is here. Yes, Naruto actually did something Plan-related that doesn't (directly) involve Hinata. You can thank Elim Garak for reminding me that I had to get around to showing some of Naruto's contingencies and fallback options. He also suggested to reduce the focus on relationships, though I confess this will be difficult as Naruto, broken as he is, WILL be selfish when it comes to Hinata. (The Romance genre tag is there for a reason, after all.) You can also thank the tag team of Solvdrage, Serious Sam, and Zorback32 for their assistance with this chapter. I won't apologize for taking so damn long. It would be pointless. I will, however, mention that during the course of writing this chapter, it got so long that I had to split it in two, so you can expect to see the next post within 2-3 weeks.**

**As you can see, the majority of voters for Chapter 4's poll wanted to place Hinata on Team Seven. The two of you who explained in your reviews for Chapter 4 why you felt Sakura should have stayed on Seven had some good points, though.**

**For anyone who has questions about the geography: I'm using the map that's found on Leaf Ninja.**

**Review Responses:**

**\- CainOmega106: I am aware that the databooks claim Toneri is on the same level as Madara. I respectfully disagree with that assessment. Due to Toneri's limited screen time, it's difficult to accurately compare his and Madara's power levels; but while I believe Toneri has more raw power, if the two ever fought, Madara would probably win due to having more experience. Either way, the best description of Toneri is "glass cannon." Toneri used a planet-buster move against Naruto, a feat Madara did not demonstrate during the war arcs in the manga, yet once Naruto was able to hit Toneri, he went down to one punch, albeit a punch that channeled all of Kurama's chakra into Naruto's arm at once. I'd quote Solvdrage on the comparison he made, but I forgot what the quote was.**

**In the canon fight, we also saw Toneri suffer from PIS due to his lust for Hinata. This obsession obviously did not exist in the OTL of _An Uzumaki Scorned_, which leaves just the focus on punishing humanity for corrupting the teachings of Hagoromo and turning ninshū into ninjutsu. With no Hinata to mess him up in the head, you should assume Toneri took his fight with Naruto seriously and was not crippled by PIS, like Madara and Kaguya were.**

**\- To anyone who reviewed that I didn't get to: My inbox is currently full and I'm...having problems trying to decide which PMs I should delete to make room for further conversation. Sorry, guys.**

**Fanfic recommendations:**

**Last chapter, I asked you guys to try to provide feedback for Zorback32's time travel story, The Pasts Future. About a day after I posted Chapter 5, he discontinued that fic, but has since rebooted it under the title "Lies in the Past, Danger in the Future". I will make the same request again for the rewrite. Any feedback you're willing to offer him would be helpful both to him, and to me since I am still his beta reader. While you're at it, maybe you could also try his other ongoing story, "The Ever Binding Seasons," although that one basically turns canon into more of a shōjo, so it might be harder to get into. I might also warn you that his updates are going to slow down for a while.**

**Also, recently The Gallant Toad Sage returned to the grid after over four years of absence. As I already mentioned in the summary and first chapter, this story was inspired in part by his own time travel fic "Betrayal", and I would ask that anyone who's reading this give GTS a shout out.**

**1) (Rated M – In Progress) "For the Love of the Hokage" by Hendrixson. I really wish this would update more often...then again, I'm not one who should be making that wish, with how slow my own updates are. But enough of that. This story, an AU set five years after the Fourth Shinobi World War and started before Obito said Kakashi would be Rokudaime instead of Naruto (and before we had knowledge of The Last), is told from Hinata's POV in every chapter except one. I also confess that this story inspired me to give Tokuma a significant role in _An Uzumaki Scorned._ If you haven't read this yet, you're missing out.**

**2) (Rated T – In Progress) "Signed: From Your Not So Loyal Author" by The Kazekage of Suna. This particular drabble collection deserves more exposure than it already has. At the time of posting this chapter, Kazekage-sama's journal has achieved over three thousand reviews, a truly impressive feat. And that review count is well-earned, as this drabble collection is simply hilarious. Don't go off reading this for the pairings, though; the very nature of the drabble collection demands they be more or less nonexistent (aside from the strongly implied ShikaTema). Before I move on to the other recommendations, I have one question to ask: why hasn't Kazekage-sama fired her (yes, her) hair stylist yet?**

**3) (Rated M – In Progress) "My Precious People" by Serious Sam. One of the best damn post-war Naruto AU stories on this site, the author adopted it from the original author Nube De Cristal and added a lot of depth to the continuation. Those of you who are also fans of MattWilson83 and his ongoing doujin _NaruHina Chronicles_ will also enjoy the homages paid to Matt throughout this story. Just be mindful that there's multiple lemons here, along with graphic violence and blood.**

**Next chapter: The other two-thirds of this chapter. Wherein teams are assigned, Hinata has reactions, and Ino is up to her usual antics.**


	7. Chapter 7: Unwelcome Aftermath

_Chapter 7_

_Unwelcome Aftermath_

_Hyūga Compound (Hinata's bedroom) – January 23, 996 A.C. – 0720 hours_

Hinata awakened to a strong feeling of confusion. She had been hurting badly all of yesterday, but now she was feeling oddly refreshed. In fact, she didn't feel even a single ounce of pain. She looked down, and the bruises on her arms had vanished. The dull throb in her head was gone. And her ribs didn't ache anymore when she took a breath.

Even more puzzling, she had dreamed that Naruto visited her bedroom again last night but if that was true, why wasn't he still there? The last time she'd thought it was a dream she'd woken up, still cuddling with him. It had been the best sleep she ever had, and last night had been eerily similar, but...

Then she noticed a scroll lying on her nightstand that hadn't been there when she went to sleep. It was sealed with the Uzumaki crest, which meant it was from Naruto. Hinata touched the seal, which extracted a tiny portion of her chakra to allow the scroll to open. When she glanced over the first words, she smiled. It was so like Naruto to just say whatever he was thinking, without any regard for etiquette. She could almost hear his voice calling out to her as she read his message.

_Hinata,_

_Hey there. Sorry about sneaking into your bedroom again last night. I heard about your spar at the compound and I wanted to be there for you sooner. If I'd known the elders were going to make you spar, I would've been there to support you no matter what they tried to do to stop me._

_Anyway, I'm sure you must have a lot of questions for me. I'm sure you're pretty suspicious of me, even if you won't say it while I'm around. And you have every right to be suspicious. I mean, I'd be suspicious of you too, if you'd been the one to come up to me and give me so much attention. But...how do I go about saying this? Well..._

_I guess there's no beating around the bush here. I'm the biggest idiot ever, Hinata. I couldn't see the signals you were giving me and when I did, I didn't know what they meant. Whenever you turned red and ran away from me, I thought you either hated me, or you were always sick or were having some sort of allergic reaction to me. And my stupidity hurt you a lot, didn't it? You don't have to hold back when you see me again. You can say or do whatever you want to hurt me back. I deserve it, after all._

_But before we see each other again, I just need you to know a couple of things. Even when you lose all of your confidence in yourself, I will never lose my confidence in you. I believe in you, Hinata. And I will do everything in my power to help you when you need me. Don't forget that, okay? _

_\- Naruto_

_P.S. - If you want to keep this scroll, I had a seal placed on it that will stop anyone besides you from reading it. Just channel some of your chakra into the seal each time you want to open the scroll. If anyone else tries to read it, it'll self-destruct._

Hinata hesitantly sealed the scroll and sat it down on her nightstand, unaware that she was shaking until the scroll left her hands. She was shaking because, for the first time in her life, she was angry with Naruto-kun, but not for his sneaking into her bedroom at night. She was merely suspicious of him for that—grateful that he cared enough to go that far to help her, but suspicious because she didn't know why he started caring about her that much. No, she was angry with Naruto-kun because he belittled himself and told her to hurt him, to lash out at him for the times he claimed he hurt her. Hinata refused to accept that Naruto-kun could undermine his own self-image when he would not allow her to do the same to hers.

She did not get time to determine what else she felt before she heard a heated argument coming from the first floor. Before she could start changing into her regular clothes, she heard her bedroom door slide open behind her, and a moment later, turned around to find her bodyguard, Kō, standing there.

"I-Isn't it early for you to be retrieving me, Kō-san?" Hinata asked.

Kō shook his head and replied, "Hiashi-sama insists on getting you out of the compound early, Hinata-sama. Please get dressed while I wait for you at the stairwell. We'll pick up breakfast on our way to the Academy." Then he slid the door shut, leaving Hinata confused and concerned about what was going on downstairs that made it so urgent for her to leave for the Academy right now. She tried to shake it off as she changed out of her pajamas and into her regular clothes, but couldn't help the bad feeling she had as she joined her bodyguard and left, expecting a confrontation of her own this morning.

* * *

_Kawa no Kuni border/southern coast of Hi no Kuni – 1005 hours_

Unlike Hinata, Naruto's sleep had been filled with the usual nightmares after he collapsed from the fatigue accumulated by his Kage Bunshin in the middle of the night. He struggled to force himself awake, still feeling groggy from the lack of rest, and didn't recognize his surroundings at first. The complete absence of light was unfamiliar to him. And yet, it didn't feel unfamiliar at all.

Naruto flared a tiny portion of Kurama's chakra. With the small amount of light emitted from his chakra shroud, he was able to make out his surroundings, though it took him a few seconds to recognize the logs he'd used to construct the walls in this room and the makeshift ladder to his upper left and gather that he was inside his safe house. Now aware of where he was, Naruto rubbed his temples, then his eyes, trying to fight off a headache while he delved through his recent memories.

The good news: nearly all of the Kage Bunshin he'd left in Konoha had completed their tasks to the best of their ability, and the memories of their attempts at designing the Kansatsu Fūin were successfully transferred, giving him quite a bit of information to sort out this evening. Additionally, the safe house was mostly constructed—he wasn't going for anything that even remotely resembled a home, just a simple, temporary hideout that only needed to last about a year in case of emergency—and all of the necessary protections seemed to be applied. And the clone he'd left in his bed was still intact, though at this point it had to be running low on chakra.

The bad news: he was still _at_ the safe house. Naruto climbed up the ladder his clones had constructed, pushed open the trapdoor and looked up at the sky to see it had been daylight for about three hours.

"Fuck me sideways..." Naruto groaned while squinting and rubbing his sore neck.

_**"I do believe that right is reserved solely for a certain indigo-haired Hyūga,"**_ Kurama cut in over their link.

_"Shut up, Kurama. There's no way in hell Hiashi-sama will let _that_ happen until she turns twenty and marries me."_ Apparently the "old enough to kill" rule ninja lived by did not apply to sex, at least as far as the Hyūga were concerned.

_**"You do realize that making that promise to your mate's father was the stupidest thing you've ever done, yes?"**_ Kurama, of course, thought those particular human behaviors and the moral guidelines and standards attached to them were utterly absurd.

_"Could you let me and my hormones wait a few months to start regretting it?"_ Not that Naruto would know from experience that it would be his hormones which would make him regret the promise—after all, his physical development had been fucked up quite thoroughly in the original timeline. It just seemed like the most reasonable thing to say to his partner.

_**"Very well. There are more pressing concerns at this moment."**_ Kurama's penchant for stating the obvious was truly remarkable, Naruto thought as he shut off their psychic link for the rest of the day. But the kitsune had just cause to state the obvious. Naruto was over a hundred kilometers away from Konoha, and the only way he'd make it back in time for team assignments was to use the Hiraishin and tear his muscles apart all over again.

_Well, there goes my back again._ Naruto grimaced as he activated the Tōton Jutsu and focused on the disposable tag he left with his clone back in Konoha. One orange flash later, he rematerialized, but not where he was supposed to. Too late, Naruto realized there was no floor beneath his feet as he fell right through a tree right outside his apartment complex, yelping with each impact he made with a branch, before his newly injured back connected with the ground.

Then a few seconds later, he shivered in dread when he heard an all-too-familiar screech underneath him.

Naruto had landed on Tora.

_Oh, fuck my life..._

* * *

_Konoha Ninja Academy (Iruka's classroom) – 1040 hours_

If most of Naruto's classmates were asked what the blond knucklehead looked like when he walked into class, their answer would be "like crap."

The minute Naruto botched his landing on the return trip to Konoha was bar none the most _physically_ painful minute of his life. In that minute, his dormant hatred of the Daimyō's wife and her demonic pet was fully reawakened. Tora, more commonly known among the shinobi population of Konoha as the Genin's Bane, had nearly torn a hole through Naruto's abdominal region as the cat clawed his way out from under his back. By the time the cat freed himself, Naruto's back was bleeding profusely and his tracksuit was done for. Limping and yelping the entire way, Naruto struggled to get back inside his apartment despite the healing chakra leaking out from the Hakke no Fūin Shiki, which he strongly doubted would be able to flush out the cat scratch fever he was sure he was infected with due to how deeply Tora's claws dug into him. The only reason Naruto didn't swear vengeance on Shijime-dono and Tora right then was because he knew Ino would turn it into a race to see who could kill them first.

Luckily, Naruto had several replacement jackets in his closet, although he knew he'd have to do something about his twelve-year-old tastes in clothing sooner this time around. Unfortunately, he didn't have any first-aid supplies whatsoever in his apartment. Naruto kicked up a storm of profanities as he grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet, wrapped it around his back as tight as he could to keep as much pressure on his wounds as possible, then put on a clean t-shirt and fresh jumpsuit and rushed out the door, limping the entire distance from his apartment to the Academy.

About halfway between his apartment and the Academy, Naruto received the memories from the Kage Bunshin he'd left behind at the apartment. The clone had left just before Naruto's mishap with the jikūkan ninjutsu and led his Anbu tail on a wild goose chase, managing to get away from them before dispelling. This at least ensured the Sandaime wouldn't learn anything Naruto wanted to stay hidden, at least for now. However, the clone had been an idiot and used his bedroom window to leave, and the disposable Hiraishin tag Naruto had left with that clone somehow managed to get blown out the window by a small gust of wind. Naruto muttered several more swear words under his breath. One of the worst things about Kage Bunshin: if they screwed up, you didn't get a chance to kick their asses for it, and even if you did, it was pointless.

Naruto moaned in pain as he walked into class and took his usual seat on the right side of the center row. Sasuke was on the opposite end of the bench, while the center seat, which was usually occupied by Sakura-nēchan whenever she beat Ino during their races to see who could sit next to Sasuke, was empty. Iruka-sensei's classroom was built to house twenty-seven students, separating them into groups of three—just like how newly formed ninja cells always had three Genin. This time, Naruto's class only had twenty-four students. Sakura-nēchan had passed the make-up exam and was sitting where Itō Kazuhiro used to, behind the Ino-Shika-Chō trio to his right. Hibachi and Kasumi's seats were also empty; they, along with Kazuhiro had not been able to recover from their spars and take the ninjutsu portion of the exams, and all three had been dropped from the ninja training program altogether.

_I wonder how that's gonna affect the timeline this time around,_ Naruto thought. _Hopefully it won't screw up the team assignments._ Outwardly, he remained calm—well, as calm as he could, given how much pain he was in. But a single ripple in the time stream, especially one created this early, was all that was needed to alter the future beyond recognition. Naruto didn't like to appreciate that fact, but not appreciating it was impossible. If the Sandaime decided to break tradition this year with the reduced number of graduates, it could cause a severe complication in The Plan.

Filing away all thoughts of The Plan for later, Naruto craned his head to the left to observe the members of Team Eight. Kiba and Shino, there was nothing to worry about there; those two were having one of their usual debates. Shino also didn't appear to harbor any further anger towards him or if he did, he wasn't showing any signs. Naruto felt a small wave of relief before he turned his head further to gaze at Hinata, only for her to meet his gaze and return it with a cold, Hyūga-like stare that had no business coming from the gentle ex-heiress. If there weren't any witnesses, Naruto would have stumbled backward and tripped over himself; the anger Hinata held towards him was that unanticipated, that unnerving. Instead, he looked away, towards the other side of the classroom, and locked eyes with Ino, worry written on his face.

Ino returned Naruto's glance and saw his worried expression, and instantly knew both reasons for his anxiety. She noticed Hinata's glare and was even more shocked by it than Naruto had to be. Throughout the entire original timeline, Ino had never once seen or heard of Hinata being angry with Naruto. The very idea that Hinata could get angry at her soul mate was almost unthinkable. Yet it happened almost right away in this timeline. Ino wondered what Naruto had done between last Saturday and now to get Hinata mad at him, but she had no safe way of finding out at this time. With so many potential witnesses around, she couldn't risk using Shindenshin to speak with Naruto telepathically like she had two days ago, or use any of her other mental techniques to read Hinata's mind. And because of that, she also couldn't reassure Naruto that his other concern was baseless.

Nor could she warn him of the _third_ concern he should have had as she observed Sasuke walking atop the desks towards him.

"We need to talk," Sasuke said, kneeling down only so he could get in Naruto's face better.

"No we don't," Naruto replied with no small amount of venom. "You need to get off my desk before something bad happens."

"Like what, _dobe?"_ Sasuke sneered. A few seconds later, he received his answer when Tobio leaned backwards and bumped him off Naruto's desk, pushing him directly towards the blond. Sasuke gasped, while Naruto's eyes widened in horror at _this_ particular mishap repeating itself.

_Oh hell no!/Fuck the hell no!_ Sasuke and Naruto raged inside their heads. Faster than he thought himself capable, Sasuke flashed through the five hand seals needed for the Kawarimi no Jutsu; there was no way in hell he was going to let himself kiss Naruto, and he also wanted to get back at a certain fangirl for what happened last Saturday before the graduation exams started. At the same time, Naruto focused his chakra to perform his own Kawarimi without using hand seals; he was adamant about not letting anyone other than Hinata kiss him in this timeline. Well, maybe the kiss to his cheek from Koyuki-hime wasn't so bad, and neither was the one to his forehead from Tsunade-bāchan. But the accidental kisses with Sasuke and the attempts from Fūka to suck out his life force through his lips? A snowball had a better chance in hell than those incidents did of reoccurring.

A few seconds later, 'Naruto' and 'Sasuke' were replaced in Naruto's seat by Tobio and Ami, who looked utterly horrified to be engaged in lip lock with each other. Both were frozen in place, unable to comprehend their situation, and so thoroughly shocked that neither could move even a single muscle. Most of the other kids just stared blankly at the scene, almost as dumbfounded as the victims.

"I wasn't aware that you were so easy, Ami," Iruka commented as he walked into the classroom. Instantly almost all of the students' attention was focused on him. "I think you need to see a therapist."

"I-Iruka-sensei!" Ami stammered, completely mortified as she pushed herself off Tobio. "It's not what it looks like!"

"She's right!" Fuki said, rushing to defend her fellow bully. "Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka forced her to kiss Tobio!"

"And _whose_ fault was it that Sasuke-san and Naruto-san were forced to perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape from the situation?" Shino interjected, his kikaichū buzzing loudly in response to their host's irritation. "If my recent memory is functioning correctly, it was Tobio-san who bumped Sasuke-san into Naruto-san less than a minute before Iruka-sensei arrived. Which would you have preferred, Ami-san: losing your first kiss to Tobio-san, or watching Sasuke-san lose his to Naruto-san?" The sudden flare of KI emitted by Naruto in response to Shino's question, directed at Sasuke, Shino, and all five of Sasuke's fangirls silenced all objections before they could enter anyone's head. It was obvious to most of the guys that they—that is, the fangirls—probably would have squealed over a yaoi show for all of approximately ten seconds before proceeding to attack Naruto. But if they'd tried it in this timeline, the class would be down another six students, and the Uzumaki couldn't bring himself to give a Flying Thunder God Fuck about the consequences of such a beatdown at this time.

"Sleep well, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, diffusing the situation as though he hadn't contributed to it a few seconds ago by blasting a third of the class with KI.

"About as well as one can sleep when one is accustomed to getting a prank pulled on them from out of nowhere," Iruka retorted.

"Hey! I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore!"

"And why not, Naruto?"

"Uh, ninja? Legally adult? Something about having to be held accountable for my actions now?"

Iruka sighed and pinched his nose. "We all know that won't stop _you_ from breaking the rules, Naruto. Now get back to your seat."

"Hey, half of those rules are still stupid, ya know!" Naruto mock whined, dragging out the argument for the sake of staying in character.

"You haven't officially graduated until I've named the team assignments! I can still hold you back another year!"

Naruto gasped, faking a look of shock. "You wouldn't!"

"Don't test me, Naruto." But Iruka and Naruto both knew Naruto was the one person Iruka wouldn't hold back now that Naruto was wearing the hitai-ite. Iruka really was fond of Naruto, even if he'd never admit it outside of a private setting, and was glad he'd passed. And he was certain his hair would turn gray from having Naruto in class for another term; in fact, just last night, he'd plucked out a few strands from his head. Iruka, of course, had no idea of Naruto's plans, or how much he would screw them up if he did keep Naruto confined to the classroom any longer.

The two shared a knowing look as Naruto faked reluctance in obeying Iruka and sitting down, now that Ami and Tobio were back in their seats.

"Good morning, students!" Iruka announced, and was met with a less-than-enthusiastic reply. He shrugged. "Well, aren't you a happy bunch this morning. I guess I'll skip the congratulatory speech and get straight to business.

"I'm sure some of you are wondering what happened to Mizuki-jukeisha two days ago." Most of his students gave him a questioning look at the particular suffix he attached to his former assistant's given name, a suffix that was only used for convicted criminals, despite having witnessed the Anbu carry him out of the building two days ago. "I cannot divulge any major details of the incident as they are classified. I can only say that Mizuki broke a major law. Plus, I'm sure Naruto did more than his fair share of bragging after the role he played in bringing Mizuki to justice."

"You can say that again!" Kiba shouted, getting a yip from Akamaru, hearty laughs from some of the other boys, and disapproving groans from a few of the girls.

"Indeed. Now if all of you would continue to remain silent and pay attention, it is time to start announcing this year's team roster. Team One..."

The only thing that made any of this relevant to Naruto was the ripples in the time stream, but even then, he had problems listening to Iruka's droning. The one curious thing he noted was that Iruka skipped Team Four. Naruto knew that the reason there was no Team Four was a strong cultural stigma—the number four was associated with death. He thought the superstition was silly, but there was one instance in the past where a Team Four had existed, and the careers of that team's members had been _very_ short-lived, so he just shook off the thought and continued to tune out Iruka's announcement and fangirl complaints for the next minute or so it would take for the next two teams to be named off.

"Will you just **shut up already!?"** Iruka snapped at Fuki after he finished naming off Team Six. "You're being more annoying right now than Naruto is on his worst days!" While it made Fuki pale, it also got several of the boys to laugh.

"Hey, I resent that remark!" Naruto shouted.

"And you'll be resenting a lot more than that if you don't quiet down too, Naruto!" The Uzumaki forced a gulp and shut up, along with the other boys, who'd paled when they saw Iruka was about to throw a textbook at them. "Thank you. Now that everyone's nice and quiet, I can continue. The next team is Team Seven, and this team will be Uzumaki Naruto..."

_Well, that wasn't going to change,_ Naruto noted. _There's no way Sandaime would entrust his precious weapon to anyone without a Sharingan to keep it under control._

"...Hyūga Hinata..."

_Wait, what?_ Naruto thought, eyes widening at the announcement of her name. Then he turned to glance at Hinata, whose head promptly collided with her desk from the announcement, and sighed. He really needed to get her to stop fainting, and fast. _The gamble paid off?_

"...and Uchiha Sasuke. Your commanding officer will be Hatake Kakashi-san," Iruka finished, and as soon as he did, all five of Sasuke's fangirls in the class protested his decision. **"Silence!"** he roared. "For the last time, these team assignments are **final,** and there will be NO complaining about them!"

Naruto definitely wasn't complaining. He wouldn't call this his _ideal_ team (his wouldn't have Sasuke in it), but given the situation, it was the best team setup possible. Again, it meant he'd be able to keep Sasuke in check—well, hopefully—and have a perfectly valid excuse to get closer to Hinata—again, hopefully.

Meanwhile, the other conscious member of Team Seven didn't know what to think of his team assignment. Normally Sasuke would have just shrugged it off, viewing any and all possible teammates as a waste of his time, but the taijutsu spars from two days ago both raised his ire and piqued his curiosity. Naruto managed to defeat him with just one attack, a complete reversal of their earlier days in the Academy when it was he who delivered the humiliating one-hit knockouts each time Iruka or Mizuki had them spar. Sasuke also knew that the move Naruto used would have killed him if the blond idiot hadn't held back.

It made absolutely no sense how the dobe managed to perform that attack when, up until two days ago, there was absolutely no indication that he was more skilled than he'd let on. His timely Kawarimi just before Iruka entered the classroom, showing the willpower and reserves necessary to replace himself with another human being and without needing to form hand seals, only furthered Sasuke's suspicions. The Last Loyal Uchiha needed to get a more accurate gauge of Naruto, and needed to learn how he got so strong on such short notice and whether he could benefit from replicating Naruto's training for his own use, but he noted there was an increasing probability he'd find that having the Uzumaki as a teammate would be somewhat tolerable.

And then there was the meek Hyūga girl, who somehow managed to become Top Kunoichi at the eleventh hour. From what little attention he'd paid, Sasuke knew Hinata's gentle nature and timidity crippled her in a fight and she preferred to fight defensively, which helped make her a target of her clan's scorn. But her showing two days ago had been far too out of the ordinary not to notice. In her match against Kasumi, Hinata fought aggressively and not merely defeated, but _destroyed_ her opponent. Sasuke didn't know what caused such a drastic change in Hinata, but he reasoned that if she could maintain that aggressive poise, _and get over her fainting spells around the dobe,_ her presence would probably be tolerable. More tolerable than any of his fangirls at least, since her fixation on Naruto meant she'd know how to leave him alone.

_Maybe the__se two__ won't be such a hindrance to me after all,_ Sasuke thought.

"Now that that's settled, Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Aburame Shino, and will be under the command of Yūhi Kurenai-san," Iruka continued, who noted that both Naruto and Sakura were unusually silent and accepting of his team placement. In Iruka's mind, Naruto should have complained that Sasuke was on his team and Sakura wasn't, while Sakura should have reacted more vehemently than the other fangirls. But instead Naruto looked like he was contemplating something, and Sakura still looked ill. It was another thing he'd need to ask Naruto about when the time to have their talk came around.

"I feel I must point out a problem with this team assignment, Sensei," Shino spoke up. "Why, you ask? Because traditionally this team is supposed to specialize in reconnaissance and pursuit, and Sakura-san has not displayed any notable skills that would facilitate the assignment of this role for her."

"Hokage-sama decided that the tradition of forming a pure strike unit and a pure tracking unit would have resulted in two unbalanced teams, Shino," Iruka replied. He had not been informed as to the real reason why Hiruzen made the switch. "Kurenai-san is also a genjutsu specialist, and he must have felt Sakura's chakra control skills would be best placed under Kurenai-san's tutelage. And placing Hinata on Team Eight would have left Team Seven without any trackers aside from Kakashi-san, which would make their missions much more difficult once they begin to receive missions without their Jōnin leader to aid them.

"Now, moving on. Team Nine is still in commission so the last team, Team Ten will be Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chōji, and Nara Shikamaru, and will be under the command of Sarutobi Asuma-san."

_Just as expected,_ Ino thought. _Sticking Asuma-sensei with the "easy mode" team. Well, he'll be in for a big surprise once he meets us._

"Not complaining about being stuck with us instead of Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked Ino during the few seconds he allocated away from his late morning nap.

"Nope! You guys are my _buuuuddies,"_ Ino said, dragging out the last word in her reply and making a few of the other students snicker. Then she hooked her arms around her teammates' shoulders and pulled them closer to show her apparent enthusiasm for her team assignment, ignoring the protest of "troublesome woman" coming from Shikamaru, and half the class burst into laughter.

"I'm sure they're glad to know that, Ino," Iruka commented with slight sarcasm, getting even more laughs. He waited for the laughing to subside before finishing his speech. "Everyone is dismissed for lunch and will be expected to return here by 1300 hours to meet their team leaders. Use this time well to get to know your teammates. One last time, I wish you all the best of luck."

Iruka's suspicions were once again raised when he saw Naruto look like he was continuing to mull over the announcement, or something else. He'd expected Naruto to make another attempt at asking Sakura on a date, or head out the door like most of the other male students. But now he didn't know what to expect anymore. As Iruka took his leave, he gave Naruto an expectant look and wished the blond didn't have to be so unpredictable.

"What a relief!" Naruto shouted the moment Iruka disappeared from sight, and then winced from the pain he triggered with his outburst. He continued to fight off the pain as he looked around at the other rookies. Kiba was just making idle talk with Akamaru, Sasuke was still brooding, Sakura looked like she would throw up if she stayed in the room any longer, the Ino-Shika-Chō team seemed to be discussing where they would go for lunch, Hinata had temporarily forgotten her anger and looked like she was deeply worried about him, and Shino...had just walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"Shino? What's up?"

"You, me and Ino-san need to talk," Shino said. "Meet me on the roof."

* * *

Being fully aware of the Anbu detail watching Naruto, Ino had instructed him and Shino via Shindenshin to walk upstairs to the roof separately. She was the first to arrive and took a seat on the western ledge, pretending to gaze at the sky. A few minutes later, Shino appeared and sat on the southern ledge, multi-tasking between their mental conversation and examining some of the bugs that made their home on the Academy rooftop. A few minutes after that Naruto finally emerged, clutching his back and wincing as he made his way to the northern ledge.

All three were also fully aware they had additional company.

_"Naruto-sama, you know the Anbu aren't the only ones watching us, right?"_ Ino asked.

_"Yep,"_ Naruto answered. _"I'm actually flattered that Hinata's still stalking me. Makes me feel...not as lonely, knowing she's watching out for me."_

_"That only makes it a wiser decision to have the three of us sit apart from one another, pretending to view the scenery,"_ Shino added. _"But since Hinata__-san__ is watching us now, whatever we do here will only reinforce her suspicions. And it would be too inconvenient to relocate."_

_"I know,"_ Naruto grumbled. _"Still, I'm pretty impressed with her stealth. We probably wouldn't know she was here if Ino and I weren't sensor types and you didn't have your cool bugs to watch out for these things."_

_"The Naruto I used to know would have been too... distressed by my kikaichū to call them 'cool'. I must thank you for the compliment."_

_"No problem, man. We're all comrades, right?"_

_"As much as I'd love to listen in on your bromance, we have a serious issue to address,"_ Ino cut in. _"Shino-kun, Naruto__-sama__ and I understand that you were upset with us in the future for including you in The Plan. Are you calm enough now to tell us why you got so angry with us in the present?"_

Shino sighed. He wasn't sure if he had calmed down enough yet. _"I...overreacted,"_ he confessed.

Ino briefly glanced at him and raised her eyebrows. _"Oh, really?"_

_"Please do not take a sarcastic tone with me, Ino-san. You anticipated that I would react poorly to the influx of memories from your timeline,"_ the Aburame pointed out. _"I am still wary of you and of Naruto-san. You are enigmas, and dangerous ones. You mean to alter the course of history and though your reasons might be the right ones now, they were not so when you arrived."_

_"That still doesn't excuse your behavior from two days ago,"_ Naruto, in Hokage Mode, interjected. _"You were out of line and you know it."_

_"Stop it, Naruto,"_ Ino snapped at him, dropping the suffix in her annoyance. _"What's done is done. Now, Shino-kun, your explanation?"_

Shino sighed again. _"__During my future self's final memory, Ino-san,"_ and there was something in the tone of his speech which raised red flags in Ino's mind,_ "it was mentioned that my clan would be quicker to notice suspicious behavior. He—I mean, I—was not given adequate time to explain our clan's situation any further."_ That time, Naruto also caught the red flag, but pretended Shino hadn't made the verbal slip._ "While you have heard this before, Naruto__-san__, you will hear it again: you have potentially made a costly mistake by not taking a little more time to hear out your comrades before using the __Kokugen Henkō no Jutsu.__ However, while I do not appreciate being ignored on such a critical subject as this, I will at least try to understand why you felt the need to travel out of that point in the time stream as soon as possible. However,"_ here he paused, not so much for dramatic effect as it was to attempt to push aside his misgivings,_ "I also suspect that if you had allowed my words to be heard then, one of you would have already taken out at least one of my clansmen, and I would be even more angry with you. So my feelings on the matter are mixed._

_"Two days ago, my reaction to receiving the memories of my future self demonstrated that members of the Aburame Clan tend to have extraordinary anger management issues. We are able to carry grudges against those who upset us for great lengths of time that others would consider impressive. We must undergo rigorous mental training to learn how to keep our anger, as well as all of our other emotions, in check._

_"And that training is the actual problem with the Aburame Clan."_ And what he said next would be a major game changer._ "Why, you ask? Because I am now convinced that the clan supports the methods of ROOT and has incorporated several of them into our training program, even for those who are not destined to take that fatal step in the service of Konoha—or rather, the service of Danzō."_

Well, shit. That massively complicated the issue. As one of the founding clans of Konoha, the loyalty the Aburame Clan had shown throughout its history, including the post-war future, had kept them off the suspect list and made the Hyūga the primary "problem clan" to be dealt with. They knew every major clan would have been approached in the past by Danzō, requesting them to give up select members to his program, but the Aburame had remained steadfast in their dedication to Konoha even when Danzō's treachery was exposed in the original timeline. And because of that, Naruto and Ino had made the error of assuming the Aburame were above reproach and that Shino's objection was entirely a personal matter. Now that they knew better, they were starting to have serious questions about just how much of Konoha still deserved to be saved. And—and this was the more pressing issue at this time—Ino was starting to suspect that there was a very real risk Shino could turn against The Plan, either willingly or through coercion.

_"If I were in your position, Naruto__-san__, I would be doing what you're doing right now by questioning whether I made an error in my research,"_ Shino continued. It seemed that Naruto was inadvertently broadcasting his thoughts over the psychic transmission._ "I assure you that there is nothing in my future self's memories which indicates this information was withheld prior to your departure from that point in the time stream. I only learned of this last night when I ventured underground into the clan's tunnel network and stumbled on one of my female kinsmen talking with a pair of ROOT shinobi. I...admit I did suspect something was wrong with my clan before then, but this goes beyond what I anticipated to find."_

_"Shino-kun's right,"_ Ino finally said. _"This is a completely new discovery that, if verified, could change the fate of the Aburame Clan."_

_"Unfortunately, I was not able to overhear any of what they said. I could not risk being detected. All I was able to uncover is the probability that my clan is in league with Danzō. However, there is no evidence of any contact between my clan and the Foundation in the years since Danzō's demise in the original timeline."_

_"Of course there wouldn't be,"_ Naruto said, while he shot a spitball into a nearby tree. _"The traitors knew they'd be hunted after Sasuke killed Danzō, so most of them went into hiding. Danzō claimed his emotionless soldiers were loyal to Konoha, but we know better than to accept his lie. They're only loyal to Danzō's vision for Konoha, and they only still exist because the Sandaime allows it."_ The surroundings grew very quiet afterward. The implications of this discovery were enormous and challenged everything they thought they knew about the situation.

_"Names,"_ Ino said after almost thirty seconds of silence. _"If you have names of Aburame ROOT-nin, Shino-kun, or of anyone in your clan who supports ROOT, we need to hear them."_

_"As of this moment, I can only identify the two who I detected in the catacombs, and cannot identify their entertainer,"_ Shino replied. _"However, I am certain you already recognize the two names, Ino-san. They are Tatsuma and Torune."_

Ino sighed. _"I'm surprised that Tatsuma is still alive,"_ she said before Naruto could ask for her to elaborate._ "He's served the Foundation for at least fifteen years. He was with Danzō when the former head of the Konoha Orphanage, Yakushi Nonō was blackmailed into handing over an orphan in exchange for continued funding almost fifteen years ago. Kabuto overheard and chose to volunteer."_

_"As for Torune,"_ Shino added, _"he was like a brother to me before he, like Kabuto volunteered for the Foundation when Danzō approached the clan, desiring to recruit me."_

Naruto laid back, wincing in pain as he closed his eyes, making it look like he was about to doze off so no one would see his eyes turn red. _"Danzō wanted to put you in ROOT?"_ he asked, holding back the immense anger unique to jinchūriki that would have made Shino's breathtaking anger management issues look trivial in comparison.

_"That is correct, Naruto__-san__. If Torune__-__niisan had not volunteered, the two of you would never have known that I even existed."_ The thought that Shino could have been an enemy from the very start deeply disturbed Naruto. He could already envision the divergence in his mind, and he already knew he didn't want to, either. He didn't want to imagine a timeline where he only knew his friend as an enemy. And it was only by another's sacrifice that the divergence didn't occur. The thought compelled Naruto to make a decision he had been sitting on for the past two days.

_"Shino...do you think Torune can be saved?"_ The question from The Once and Future Hokage took the normally stoic Aburame aback. Did Naruto really just ask what he thought was asked?

_"I do not understand your question, Naruto__-san__. Would you care to elaborate?"_

_"You said that you and Torune used to be close friends,"_ Ino answered for Naruto. _"After the exams two days ago, when Chōji demolished Kazuhiro and effectively destroyed his chances of joining ROOT, Naruto__-sama__ and I have been asking ourselves if it's possible to save any others besides my husband. Do you think there's a chance we can break Torune free from his conditioning?"_

_"I honestly don't know."_ Ino noted that Shino's thoughts were shaky._ "We of the Aburame Clan are better suited to the ROOT conditioning than most others because we've already been adapted to it on a lesser level from a young age. What you're asking Naruto__-san__, Ino__-san__...it is not only a difficult question to answer, but the question itself also provides me with a view that conflicts with what I know about you so far. Would you really try to give me back my childhood friend and adoptive brother?"_

_"Believe it, Shino,"_ Naruto said. _"If it can be done, we'll do it. We know we can't save everyone in ROOT or even most of them, but we'll try to save whoever we can, if we get that chance."_ And right then, he knew that he had possibly made a grave mistake. Ino currently estimated that out of everyone under Danzō's control, less than ten percent could be broken of their conditioning—and that was a _generous_ guess. A completely wild guess that lacked a solid foundation, but she still thought it was a generous one. But Naruto didn't believe in killing unless it was absolutely necessary—even if he was a little looser with his personal definition of necessary than he used to be—and he also never went back on his word unless it was completely unavoidable. Also, he saw Shino as a friend, and if there was any chance he could give his friends back someone they once thought lost and could do so through reasonable means, he felt compelled to at least try.

Shino froze. He could not recall anything from his memories—both sets of them—that gave him such a strong feeling of hope like the one Naruto's offer brought out from deep inside him. He had assumed that Torune was lost forever, and had not been allowed to dwell on his friend's departure into the shadows. Could Naruto actually pull this off? Could he really save Torune? And if so, could he also make the rest of the Aburame Clan change?

_"Naruto..."_ Shino found the words hesitant to come forth, _"this feeling is unfamiliar to me. Your words make me want to believe you are capable of completely defeating Danzō and his ideology by not only destroying him, but also destroying the loyalty of those who ally with or serve him. If you can truly pull this off, then there will be no reason why I, or anyone else shouldn't pledge their loyalty to you."_

_"We'll do everything in our power, Shino. I promise."_ Shino managed to recompose himself after hearing those words—and Naruto wasn't sure that was a good thing.

_"Pray that nothing makes you betray your word. Konoha will be in great peril if you cannot prove yourself worthy of faith."_ Shino stood up and performed a few light stretches. _"And pray that your actions do not create a future worse than the one you aim to change."_ He then exited Ino's psychic hub and turned to leave. A few seconds later, Ino did her own stretches but reminded Naruto via the telepathic conversation that Shino wasn't being completely honest with them and that they needed to keep a closer eye on him.

As the Aburame left, he spotted Hinata spying on Naruto from the stairwell and approached her. "Go to him," he told Hinata, "but be careful of your words and actions. Naruto-san is being watched by Anbu." Hinata, turning red from embarrassment at being discovered, nodded as Shino and Ino walked past her, but she was also left wondering why the Hokage would have Naruto placed under surveillance.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, poking her index fingers together. Naruto pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at her, which didn't help her nervous habit. "Um...can we...um..."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Hinata, please don't do that. If you're gonna say something, just say it."

"Can we go somewhere else to talk?" she blurted out, afterward covering her mouth with both hands, as though it was a sin to speak her mind.

"Sure, just give me a sec." Naruto jumped off the edge of the rooftop and a second later, regretted his decision when he remembered his muscles were still knotted up and strained from last night. "Ow!" he shouted as he stumbled and almost fell down.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, running up to support him. "What's wrong?"

"I think I overdid it while I was training last night," he griped. "I'll be fine."

"Let me take a look." Naruto could not believe Hinata, shy and timid as she was, had actually just said that. His blush nearly matched hers as she too, realized what she just told him.

"Uh...okay, but only if you're sure you're comfortable with it." Hinata wasn't sure, but nodded anyway. Naruto slowly unzipped his jacket and took it off, then lifted up his shirt, which was soaked in blood that seeped through the towel that fell off. Hinata gasped, not because she was seeing this much of Naruto's skin, but because of how bad his back looked. There were dozens of deep cuts that looked like they had been much deeper less than two hours ago, and she could see, even without her Byakugan where some of his muscles had been torn, pulled back together, and then strained once again.

"Could you p-please l-lie down?" she asked, cursing herself for her stutter. Naruto gave her a skeptical look so she elaborated. "Um...y-your back is hurt r-really bad. It n-needs to be treated right away, or it'll get a lot worse."

Naruto cursed himself; he should have known better than to try to sugarcoat his words in front of Hinata. "Well, okay, but I think we should go inside first." Hinata just nodded, but stayed close to Naruto as he picked up his towel, put his jacket back on and walked back inside, so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself even worse.

* * *

The two managed to make it all the way to the nurse's office at Naruto's insistence, which to their surprise was left both empty and unlocked. Naruto created a Kage Bunshin that Henged into the form of one of the Academy's nurses far enough away so that it looked like she just returned from her prior engagements. Hinata was about to ask both how Naruto could use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and why Naruto made the clone, but his eyes were pleading with her, begging her to trust him, so she let it be. The clone walked up to them and led them inside, then closed the door behind them while Naruto took off his jacket and t-shirt and sat them on a nearby chair. Naruto then laid himself down carefully on one of the beds, lying on his stomach and folding his arms under his head while the clone activated a privacy seal. Once the seal was activated, the clone dispelled, making Hinata feel slightly more comfortable. She strongly doubted she could force herself to treat Naruto's back while there was more than one of him in the same room as her.

"W-Why are there Anbu watching you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, giving voice to the first of many questions she had for her hero and crush.

"Did Shino tell you about my tail?" Naruto asked in reply as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Hinata, not trusting her voice completely yet, nodded, and Naruto sighed. It already sounded like Ino was right to be suspicious of Shino. "The Sandaime used to have some of the Anbu watch over me when I was younger. At the time, there were still some villagers who hated me enough to try to kill me. None of them actually hurt me, though. My Anbu tail always caught them before they could get close enough to attack."

"H-How do you know all of that?" _And why are you referring to Hokage-sama so formally?_ she didn't add.

"One of them told me about it a while back. I'm really glad they were there in the past, but now it's really annoying that they've started spying on me again, ya know?" Hinata nodded again in complete agreement with Naruto as she sat down on his thighs, straddling him and blushing deeply from the intimate contact. But her embarrassment paled in comparison to her frustration with the situation. If she couldn't do something as simple as treating his injuries without the risk of being forcibly separated from him, how was she supposed to be there for him when things got worse?

"T-This might s-sting a bit..." Hinata took out a jar of the Hyūga Clan's secret ointment from her jacket and opened it. She dabbed two fingers in the medicinal cream and slowly applied it to the deepest set of cuts on Naruto's back. He hissed, gripping the bed sheets tightly, but held in his verbal complaints.

"A-Are you o-okay?"

"Not really." By that, Naruto did not refer to his back. It would have healed on its own, though perhaps not in time for the secondary test. It was his mind and soul that sustained the more severe injuries.

"Y-You need to be more careful," Hinata scolded him. Naruto sensed her facial expression change along with the tone of her voice and knew he was still in trouble with her. In his mind, he visualized her glaring at his back, just like she'd glared at his face when she saw him in class before Iruka-sensei assigned them to their teams.

"Are you still angry with me?" Naruto asked.

_"Hai,"_ Hinata answered, softly, but not too soft for Naruto's ears to catch it. "B-But not for sneaking into my b-b-bedroom last night..."

Naruto tried to sigh again, but hissed instead when Hinata applied ointment to another cut. "Hinata—"

"Listen to me, Naruto-kun." Naruto almost flinched at the steel in Hinata's voice, but did as he was told. "I'm grateful to you for healing me and leaving me the scroll. But, what you said...do you know how hypocritical it was of you to say those things? To tell me that I should hurt you, and that you deserve to be hurt? Why, Naruto-kun? Why would you tell me not to belittle myself, and then go and say that? It...it doesn't make sense. And it's not like you." Naruto said nothing as he listened to her rant. The past version of himself would have tried interrupting, but that would have only got him in bigger trouble. Also, she was wrong. He couldn't handle being hurt by her, but he did deserve to be hurt.

"You have experienced so much pain in your life already, Naruto-kun. Why would you ask me to give you more? To make the burdens you bear even larger? To make the hurt even worse? And you didn't even think twice about asking me to do it! You just...assume that no matter how much is heaped on you, that you're strong enough to handle it, and you're wrong. Everybody has their limits, Naruto-kun. Even you.

"Not everything is your fault, Naruto-kun. You need to stop blaming yourself for things you have no control over, and I...I won't forgive you if you keep doing that to yourself!"

Naruto just laid there, momentarily stunned. This, right here was the kind of strength he knew lay dormant inside Hinata. This was the strength that had kept him from falling too far during some of his worst moments. This was the Hinata he needed to free from the shell that kept her trapped. But after hearing Tokuma's report on her spar, this was the absolute _last_ thing he expected from her today.

_Maybe I should get her angry more often,_ he mused, thinking only of breaking her out of her shell and completely oblivious to how that thought could turn around and bite him in the ass later. Grimacing from his aching muscles and cuts, he wormed himself out from underneath Hinata and turned to face her. She was still too mad at him to blush at the sight of his exposed chest, at least for now.

"You just made me very proud of you, Hinata," he said, staring deep into her eyes.

"Ehhhhh?" And her blush came back. But Naruto was not about to let her get embarrassed over telling him off.

"Breathe. Just breathe." She _barely_ managed to comply and get her blush to recede. "You showed a lot of confidence in yourself when you told me all of that. And you also proved to me that you're strong...Hey, hold it!" he objected when he saw she was about to shrink back into her shell. Naruto placed her hands on her shoulders and forced her to keep looking at him. "If you were weak Hinata, would you have stood up to me like that? Would you have told me off for saying what I did in that scroll?" Hinata suppressed a gasp, then shook her head negatively. _"Exactly._ So don't you _dare_ tell me you're not strong. If I'm not allowed to be a hypocrite and put myself down, then neither are you. Got it?"

Hinata's thoughts were suddenly filled with moments over the last two days—of how her world had turned around. Naruto's sudden encouragement, not only of her but also her strength and abilities had given her the courage to stop being so timid and stand up for herself by agreeing to the spar with Masaru. But then she tensed up for just a moment, remembering the pain from that spar. Naruto felt her tense up under his hands and softly rubbed her shoulders. Amazingly, she allowed herself to relax.

"You were thinking about the spar just now, weren't you?" Naruto asked. Hinata hesitantly nodded. "But you didn't back down from it, did you? You didn't give in, you kept fighting until you couldn't stand, right?" Again, she nodded. "You showed a lot of strength then, too. Even though you lost, you refused to back down. You refused to give up. You endured as long as you could. And that means you did really well. I was worried about you, and I still am but you're still here, so I know everything's gonna be okay." No, he didn't. It was the opposite: he knew things would _not_ be okay, not for a long time. But he needed Hinata to believe that they would be okay. And, maybe, if she could believe it, then maybe he could too.

"You're...you're right, Naruto-kun," Hinata conceded, giving him a small nod. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to c-call myself weak ever again."

"Good." Naruto gave her another soft smile. He'd wanted to do more, to give Hinata more physical affection, but even hugging her or caressing her cheek would have sent her all the signals she wasn't ready to receive and sent her straight to dreamland (though he wouldn't have minded getting the chance for a snuggle session), so he just laid back down, letting her continue her ministrations to his back. Hinata was infinitely grateful for that; she wasn't sure how much more of a _shirtless_ Naruto's affections she could handle. But at least her self-confidence was mostly restored after the disaster into which she'd been thrown.

Hinata finished treating his cuts and, seeing they were healing quick enough that he didn't need any bandages or stitches, worked on the rest of his back. As Hinata continued to press her ointment-covered fingers into Naruto's back, coaxing his muscles out of their knots and drawing a few sighs of contentment, she grew more and more uneasy, and not because she was doing something that even two days ago, she would not have been able to do. It was simply because Naruto was just so different from what she knew.

She could live with Naruto-kun owning up to his denseness and wanting to make amends; that was actually the easiest change for her to accept. She wasn't sure what to make of some of the changes in his speech, or that he seemed to be more knowledgeable than he'd let on, but if this was the cost of having his attention, it was possibly smaller than she'd feared. As for his training, and why he'd been with Ino-san and Shino-san on the rooftop...she set those questions aside for now. She sensed it wasn't the right time to ask about those things.

His animosity towards Sasuke, though...it was far worse than she remembered seeing from him. She could easily tell it had transformed from a simple rivalry into a deep-seeded grudge. Between his blasts of killing intent and the hate in his eyes this morning when he glared at Sasuke...it bothered Hinata enough that she had to ask him about it. Seeing that look in his eyes _scared_ her, and she didn't want to be scared of Naruto. And she felt she had to broach the subject now, while she still felt the surge of confidence Naruto had, against all odds, given her.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, letting her hands fall to her sides.

"Yes, Hinata?"

"Anō...w-why do you hate Sasuke-san so much?"

_Great. She's already starting to ask the hard questions._ Now it was Naruto who tensed up. Obviously he couldn't tell Hinata the biggest reason he hated Sasuke was because the Uchiha murdered her and hundreds of others in the future, not for a long time. At least Hinata wasn't asking about his training, or something else that would force him to make an effort to completely hide his true feelings. That would have made things get very complicated, very fast. But how to go about explaining it in a way she'd believe?

Naruto once again wormed his way out from under Hinata, but this time he reached over for his shirt and put it back on before sitting back down. "It's...complicated, Hinata. There's a lot of reasons why I hate Sasuke, some of which I can't tell you yet."

"O-oh..."

"Part of it is his fangirls. I just can't stand seeing the attention he gets sometimes. Why do most of the girls keep fawning over him like that? Why do they confirm his existence but deny mine?" His complaints were more shallow and spoke less of his own deep-seeded issues than in the first timeline. He didn't need the acknowledgment anymore, aside from Hinata's and the people he'd brought back in time with him, and knew he would have it again anyway. The words still affected Hinata greatly, and rather than press her suspicions, she scrambled to comfort Naruto as best she could, so he could start to let go of the hate he kept bottled up inside.

"They're blind," Hinata said softly, with a touch of anger in her voice.

"Could you say that a little louder for me, Hinata?"

Hinata paused to take a few deep breaths. "I said they're blind, Naruto-kun. They d-don't want to see the t-two of you for who you are. It's easier for them to keep l-living with the lies they've been told than it is to see the truth of their actions. They don't want to see what they're doing to hurt b-both you and Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun. They smother you with their fear and hate, but... but they're also smothering him with false affection, and th-they... they d-don't see what their choices are doing to you. They're looking at you two through tinted lenses, refusing to take them off and let themselves see you in a clear light. It hurts you because they're doing this, and it hurts me as well, because they don't want to stop and truly _see."_

Naruto took Hinata's hands into his, making her gasp. Every time he looked at her, every time she spoke her thoughts, he found himself falling for her all over again. "Hinata...has anyone ever told you how awesome you are?" he asked. Her blush flared up as she shook her head negatively. "You really know how to see people, Hinata. You don't let anything like fear, pain or prejudice cloud your sight. The world would be a much better place if more people were like you."

"Naruto-kun..." How was she supposed to voice her concerns when Naruto was like this? Any praise Hinata received was intoxicating, and to receive so much from Naruto made her hopelessly addicted to him, no matter how much he'd changed these past few days.

"And you're right about how much it hurts. But that's the other reason why I hate all the attention Sasuke gets, Hinata. He just keeps rejecting everyone. Maybe not all of those people are as blind as you say; maybe some of them really do want to help him, but he won't let anyone help. He thinks they _can't_ help. He's walking down a terrible road and it...it terrifies me, Hinata. And not just because I see him turning into a monster if he doesn't change, but also...because sometimes I can see myself doing the same damn thing." Naruto stopped and took a few moments to reinforce his faltering composure. Even now, he had to struggle sometimes with dismissing the occasional temptation to just take everyone he held close to safety, abandon the Elemental Nations (or wipe them off the map), and start over in a distant land.

Hinata, for her part, felt just as conflicted inside as Naruto was simply by watching him talk. Each time she looked into his eyes, she uncovered another tiny piece of the story Naruto didn't want to tell to the rest of the world, and she saw that a major driving force of that story was his internal conflicts, fueled by the intensity of the emotions he kept bottled up. Naruto was truly struggling to keep himself together.

_Naruto-kun's feelings...they're tearing him apart..._

"But..." Naruto continued, and Hinata saw the pages of the story in his eyes turn, "we can change that and help him, right? We're his teammates now, Hinata. We can't give him back his old family, but maybe if he'll let us in, we can give him a new family and help him move on and find a better road to travel. And maybe, if we do manage to help him let go of his hate, then maybe I can let go of my hate too. So will you help us, Hinata? Will you help us let go?"

Hinata, still slightly blushing, nodded. She was overjoyed, but couldn't bring herself to show it in the way she wanted. "Yes, Naruto-kun, I will," she said with a smile. She was rewarded for her encouragement with a big hug, making her squeak in surprise.

"Let's go get something to eat and then head back to class, okay?" Naruto asked, recreating the henged Kage Bunshin to release the privacy seal. Hinata, fighting off every impulse she had to faint in his arms, simply nodded again.

* * *

_Memorial Stone_

Ino's eyes stayed closed for a few seconds after her arrival at Konoha's memorial for its fallen shinobi. Her mind flashed back to the memorial service one week after the survivors of the Fourth Shinobi World War returned home. The memories of that day were still as vivid in her mind as they were the day it happened, and they still haunted her on some nights. The old stone didn't have enough room left to have the names of everyone who died in the war etched into it, so architects had needed to bring in a new stone, four times larger than the old one. She'd watched as the new stone was installed and the names of every Konoha citizen who perished, both civilian and shinobi, were permanently seared into her skull when they were carved into the surface.

On those rare days in the future when she had a break from all of her duties as an Anbu, a therapist and a clan head, Ino had done the same thing Kakashi was doing right now. She had lost track of time for hours upon end, immersing herself in her memories of everyone they lost. It wasn't a chronic habit like Kakashi had, but the need was still there.

But even though she understood what Kakashi felt, she did not sympathize with him. The Rokudaime Hokage had denied the Nanadaime Hokage—her Hokage—a chance to properly grieve along with the rest of the survivors. He'd sent Naruto away from support when he needed it most, forcing him into solitude when he wasn't consumed by duty, and then piled even greater burdens on his shoulders when he returned. Kakashi had made more than his fair share of contributions to Naruto's emotional turmoil and arguably done more than most to drive him to the breaking point. There were times when Ino wanted to exact some measure of revenge against Kakashi for his mistakes in handling Naruto, but there was never an opportunity in the original timeline. Kakashi was superior to her in every way that mattered then.

Now? Kakashi might still have the physical advantage, but in the domain of the mind, Ino reigned supreme.

A very large part of her was going to enjoy the next few minutes as she returned fifteen years of pain to Kakashi.

"It's easy to lose track of time here, huh?" Ino asked, slowly approaching the lazy Jōnin while she made hand signs behind her back.

"Aren't you wandering off a little too far?" Kakashi replied, not budging even a single millimeter. "This is no place for a fresh genin who's seen nothing of the world."

"You'd be eating your words right now if you took the time to read my story, Kakashi-sensei."

"Not interested."

"Well, I know at least one story you _will_ be interested in."

Kakashi closed his copy of _Icha Icha Violence_ and craned his head to look at Ino, who now stood on his right side. "Should I be proud or disturbed that a twelve-year-old girl who's the daughter of one of the more influential clan heads in Konoha has taken a liking to Icha Icha?"

"I don't know. But what if I told you that my dad not only is a secret fan of Jiraiya-sama's books, but also has insider information about an upcoming release in the series?" None of what Ino just said was a lie. Inoichi did happen to know about an Icha Icha that has yet to be published. It just wasn't one Jiraiya wrote in the original timeline.

"Then I'd have to see if I could talk Inoichi-san into sharing his information—after I take you back to him to receive disciplinary action." Kakashi gripped Ino's left shoulder with his right hand.

And Ino had him right where she needed him. "Kioku Tensō no Jutsu," she whispered, brushing her left hand against Kakashi's right leg ever so slightly, and the elite Jōnin passed out before he could use a Shunshin to take them to the Torture and Interrogation Department. Ino couldn't stop herself from giggling as Kakashi dropped to the ground.

Confident that Kakashi was going to be out of it for at least half an hour, Ino decided to entertain herself with his copy of _Icha Icha Violence_ while she waited until she had to get back to the Academy. According to her dad, there was more conflict than usual among the jōnin-sensei for this year's graduating class, which had translated into a more generous lunch break for their final day of class. While it did give her more time to make sure Kakashi was brought back into the fold, Ino considered the development somewhat of a mixed blessing.

But back to Icha Icha. Ino had gotten herself into it during the downtime periods between crises in the future, when Sai had surprised her one night by acting out one of the scenes in _Icha Icha Tactics_ with her. Since then, Ino considered herself something of a smut connoisseur. But as she went through the pages, she remembered a very important detail about Jiraiya: his writing ability did not meet her standards. _Tactics_ stood out from the rest because it had been written during the two years Jiraiya took Naruto away from Konoha, and Ino had later learned when Naruto wrote _Icha Icha Tragedy_ two years before they went back in time (and in doing so, confirmed that Naruto wrote it without doing any "research" whatsoever) that the Uzumaki had actually been the one to write most of _Tactics._ Naruto, a twenty-seven-turned-twelve-again virgin relying only on his imagination, had better writing skills than his mentor/godfather, who was thoroughly experienced in sexual activities. Ino would have laughed at how sad the thought was if she was capable of forgetting why Naruto lacked experience. She instead settled on a loud groan as she continued to reacquaint herself with the most current release, already questioning why she was still reading. _Violence_ was just...bad.

"Ugh...I can't believe I forgot how bad Ero-sennin is at storytelling. Is it not possible for him to get his dick out of his hand long enough to pull a semi-decent plot out of his ass?"

"Normally, I'd chastise you for criticizing Jiraiya-sama's writing skills," Kakashi rasped as he pushed himself off the ground. "But..." he added before taking _Icha Icha Violence_ out of Ino's hands, "if these memories you just gave me are real, Naruto did create better stories in the future when he had to ghost write for Jiraiya-sama, and then later when Jiraiya-sama's publishers forced those contractual obligations into his lap, so I guess you have at least some reason to complain."

Ino shook her head. "I wish they weren't real, Kakashi-sensei," she said, honestly. "The future redefined the word nightmare for every ninja who survived its horrors."

"So it would seem." Kakashi sat back down and propped himself up against the stone, rubbing his temples in vain to fight off the colossal headache Ino's mental ninjutsu gave him. "I'll need time to adjust to this. My mind's going to need the entire day to process most of these memories and come to grips with what hasn't happened yet. Hopefully Naruto won't blame me too much if I'm still three hours late."

"I don't know about that, Kakashi-sensei. There was a certain rift between you and Naruto-sama in the future. You'd better not do anything that will make it impossible to cross that rift." Her mission completed, Ino smirked and used a brief Shunshin to leave the area and get back to her teammates/surrogate brothers, then consumed a soldier pill to replenish her tragically small chakra reserves. She already knew before coming back in time with Naruto that she couldn't afford to maintain the strict diet she'd kept herself on the first time around, and that she'd have to take her physical training seriously. If that meant screwing up her good looks...well, that would be a major sacrifice. But for Naruto's sake, for The Plan's sake, she would become far stronger than she'd ever been.

* * *

_Back at the Academy – 1545 hours_

The past few hours had been almost pure bliss for Hinata. She expected Naruto to drag her off to Ichiraku's and have her try some of their ramen, but instead he asked her what she wanted to eat and after hearing her answer, he accompanied her to her favorite bakery and ordered a dozen cinnamon rolls. The baker had scowled at Naruto, but recognized the hitai-ite and didn't attempt to deny him service. A good thing, because Naruto looked like he'd been ready to attack the baker if he tried something. After they left, Naruto been perfectly content to just sit next to her on a nearby bench, watching her embarrass herself with the way she devoured the pastries, and encouraging her to make small talk.

...If Hinata didn't know better, if she hadn't reminded herself of how dangerous Naruto said it was for them to try to be more than friends right now, she would have thought she was on a _date._ An actual date, with Naruto-kun. As it was, the joy she felt in Naruto's company was slightly marred by the pain of seeing how much he had to restrain himself in front of unwanted eyes.

When they got back to the Academy, Naruto didn't let her enter the classroom right away. He took a peek inside, and after seeing that Kakashi was going to be late again, made a few Tōton Kage Bunshin to set up a trap for their sensei, then took Hinata into the Academy training grounds and talked her into sparring with him. It took him a few tries to get her into the mood, as she was not enthusiastic about doing anything that could hurt Naruto, but he reminded her that they would have to spar a lot once Kakashi started training them, so she reluctantly gave in to his request.

Hinata couldn't believe it, but the spars had been even more enjoyable than eating lunch with her crush. Naruto kept encouraging her the entire time, praising her each time she won a round, and comforting her each time she lost. He also pointed out things she could have done better after each loss, and helped her correct the problems in her Jūken stances. He didn't criticize her for her excessive use of footwork; instead he encouraged it, suggesting she should modify the standard forms in a way that felt more natural. And after each round, they both saw and felt the improvements she made.

But she still had so many questions about Naruto's new taijutsu. It was similar to, yet so different from his previous style (or lack thereof). It lacked flow at times and was a bit flashy, but packed a hard wallop. Naruto didn't seem to be aware of how strong some of his hits were. Several of the times Hinata lost a round in their training session, it had been because Naruto accidentally put too much force into one of his grapples, throws or palm thrusts. Although, she found it cute every time he fretted over her after one of those attacks.

For now, she reminded herself that she was going to hold off on asking any further questions. Hinata couldn't admit it, but she wanted to be selfish, if only for a little while. She wanted to revel in Naruto's affections, even if it meant ignoring every reason she had to mistrust him. And she didn't want to push Naruto away because she asked him a question about the changes in him before he was ready to give her more answers.

"You're doing really good," Naruto told her while they rested after their thirtieth, and probably last, round. "I bet you could easily take down any of those stuck-up elders in your clan if they ever try to hurt you again."

"M-Maybe," Hinata replied, wanting to believe Naruto's praise wasn't wasted on her. "But they're so much b-better than me..."

"Oh, please! I've seen what some of them look like and believe me when I say it doesn't look like they've done any kind of serious exercise in years! They'll be in for a really nasty surprise if they try to pull a fast one on ya."

"A-are you s-sure?"

"Hinata." Naruto gripped her shoulders, begging her to trust him. "I will _never_ do anything on purpose that could get you hurt. I promise." Hinata gasped. She was starting to feel, rather than see, the feelings concealed behind Naruto's eyes, trying their hardest to be received. In spite of all of her misgivings, she wanted nothing more than to trust in him, and to believe in herself like he believed in her. But more than that, she just wanted to get lost in him, and in this moment which was, in every definition she had for the word, beautiful.

But like all beautiful moments, it wasn't allowed to last.

"When is Kakashi going to arrive here?" a voice that sounded twenty years too old for its owner asked, breaking Hinata out of her blissful trance. Hinata and Naruto turned to face Sasuke, who'd opened up the one window in Iruka's classroom and hopped out to observe the last round of Naruto and Hinata's sparring.

_"Tem__a__e,"_ Naruto growled, not giving any signals that could reveal he knew Sasuke had been spying on them. "What do you want?"

"I'm trying to be civil here for once, so can't you extend me the same courtesy?" Sasuke said, trying to hold in his annoyance with the dead last. "I was asking when Kakashi was going to arrive. He's wasting our time."

"He usually does." Naruto's subconscious refused to associate "Sasuke" with "civil", but he had to try anyway. "I heard a joke about him, once. Something about being late to his own funeral when he dies."

"Hn. Doesn't sound too hard to believe right now."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "h-how much do you know about Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto sighed. "Not as much as I'd like," he replied while leading his teammates back to Iruka's classroom, unaware of how close he was to slipping into Hokage Mode. "He's supposed to be former Anbu and is said to know over a thousand different ninjutsu. He also likes reading porn and making really lame excuses each time he's late to something."

"Isn't that just great," Sasuke groaned, rolling his eyes before climbing back through the open window. Hinata followed a few seconds later, then Naruto, who shut the window behind him. "At least you two used the extra time well."

"I guess so." Naruto fiddled with a kunai in his right hand as he and Sasuke took their usual seats, with Hinata sitting between them. It was _insanely_ difficult for him to be amicable towards his former rival. "Why are you so chatty today, Sasuke? It's not like you."

"I'm not the only one here who's behaving out of character," the Uchiha said in a matter-of-fact tone, though internally he was struggling almost as much as Naruto was to not turn this into a fight—one Sasuke sensed he'd lose if it turned physical. "You're different, Naruto. You changed overnight. It's suspicious and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about it."

"As long as you don't betray us Sasuke, I don't care how you feel. Just so you know where we stand."

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms and turned away from Naruto, giving up the pretense of civility. Hinata, trapped between the two, wanted to wilt away from the unresolved tension between her teammates. She tried to shake it off for now, reasoning that it would be a regular thing for the foreseeable future. That didn't mean she had to appreciate Naruto and Sasuke's hostile attitude towards one another.

Hinata spent the uncomfortable silence gazing at Naruto. She was deeply worried about the changes in him. Naruto had admitted to hating Sasuke, but she knew what he kept bottled up inside was so much stronger than ordinary hate. She knew it would only be a matter of time before the bottle cracked and all of that hate spilled out, and when it did, the big fight between her teammates would end badly for both of them regardless of the outcome. How much damage would that fight do to Naruto's already poor reputation among the villagers? How would the Hokage respond once news of the fight reached his office?

She was so lost in her concerns that she didn't notice when Naruto turned his head to face the door, sensing the imminent arrival of their truant sensei.

"My first impression of you guys is..." Kakashi announced, dodging the first Mahi Fūin Naruto had his Tōton Kage Bunshin set up while he and his teammates were absent, but landing right on the second one. Being a seasoned Jōnin, Kakashi was able to overcome the effects of the seal quickly, but not quickly enough to escape the rest of the trap unscathed. Once Kakashi stepped on the paralysis seal, three more seals activated simultaneously, one on the ceiling, one on the door behind him, and one on the wall in front of him. The trap on the ceiling dumped several gallons of syrup on Kakashi, while the trap set behind him hurled a large punching bag into his back. And the trap in front of him launched a dozen sharpened, serrated kunai. Kakashi performed a Kawarimi to escape the trap with minimal damage to his hair and uniform, leaving only two things where he once stood: a log...and his copy of _Icha Icha Violence_ which he'd somehow managed to lose to the frontal trap before substitution.

Kakashi walked back inside the classroom and to where the trap was sprung, picked up the tattered, syrup-stained remnants of his smut novel, and sighed.

"...I really fucking hate you. Go to Training Ground 3 and I'll meet you there after I make funeral arrangements for my precious." Kakashi slammed the door on his way out. As soon as he did, Naruto burst into laughter while Hinata tried to glare at him but failed miserably, succumbing to her hero's mirthfulness and giggling (while making a mental note to ask when he learned fūinjutsu), and Sasuke shook his head in total disbelief, as he realized he was stuck with these three now. He got up and left, leaving his new comrades behind, but couldn't get their laughing out of his head.

The broken pair's amusement with their teacher's misfortune would last through most of that hour as they let themselves continue to indulge in their selfishness.

* * *

_Training Ground 3 – 1700 hours_

Now that his annoyance with Uzumaki Naruto's latest stunt was purged from his system, Hatake Kakashi gave the scene before him a wistful look. The team that sat in front of him was a disaster in the making, a disaster he and Naruto had to somehow avert. A disaster that, had Yamanaka Ino not transferred to him the memories of his future self, he would have likely escalated.

Kakashi had designed his infamous "Bell Test" to exploit the flaws in any potential team, tricking them into working against each other. Considering the current curriculum at the Ninja Academy, it was all too easy to fail every team he'd received in the past. Every team except his original Team Seven that is—which was the only team he'd ever wanted to train—but even they fell apart. And now that he remembered the future, Kakashi wondered for a moment if failing that team like he had all the others would have produced a kinder result than what had transpired before. But it was pointless to wonder about what could have been—and he couldn't afford to find out if Neo Team Seven would be better off getting held back, because there was way too much at stake. Getting Hinata and Sasuke to look underneath the underneath could wait a few days…after all, he had his orders and he couldn't see a single positive outcome if he decided to disobey.

"It's just my luck that I got the three cute little genin who are completely mental," Kakashi muttered. "Well, I suppose it's time to get introductions out of the way. Likes, dislikes, that sort of thing." He paused to try to decide which of his students should start, only to be met with three looks of expectancy. "Oh, alright, I'll go first and set the example. My name is Hatake Kakashi and my likes and dislikes are, quite frankly none of your business. As for my hobbies...well, there's too many to mention. And dreams? Eh, they're not worth thinking about at this time. Okay blondie, your turn."

"Try again, Sensei," Naruto demanded.

Kakashi's one visible eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

"The only thing you told us was your name," an irate Uzumaki pointed out.

"And you're in no position to make me tell you more than that, especially since you destroyed my favorite book an hour ago with one of your more malicious pranks," the Copy Ninja shot back. "Your turn, Naruto."

"Alright, fine," Naruto grumbled, adding a short string of curses under his breath. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto. I like training, my comrades, and..." Naruto's speech trailed off as he winced at the memory of reading the Sandaime's black book the night he went back in time, stopping him from keeping his comfort food on his list of likes. "Dislike isn't a strong enough word for these next few things. I _hate_ traitors, running into snags in my training, people who try to control others...but there's a few people I hate more than anything else." Kakashi and Hinata didn't miss him turning his head slightly towards Sasuke, who also noticed but didn't care. "My hobbies are pulling pranks and gardening. As for my dream..."

Naruto shook his head, forcing back certain memories of his nightmare future. "No, I won't tell you my dream. My _ambition_ is to reform and unite the Elemental Nations and destroy the corruption which plagues them."

"And just how do you plan to do that, _dead last?"_ Sasuke sneered at the knucklehead. Inwardly, he was shaken up by the tone of the Uzumaki's voice.

"By becoming Hokage, you _bastard,"_ Naruto shot back. The venom in his voice made the Uchiha _flinch._ "Then everyone will have to acknowledge I won't let anyone get away with the crimes they've been committing anymore!" he flared his anger before he could think to stop himself from revealing his true intentions. He then shrank back a lot when Kakashi gave him one of the nastiest looks he had ever seen from the Copy Ninja, only now realizing his screw-up.

_What happened to the old Naruto?_ both Sasuke and Hinata wondered, not for the first or last time. There was almost no trace left of the Naruto they knew—a loud-mouthed, dense prankster and all-around knucklehead, who tried to keep his true pain and anger concealed by a mask of happiness. That mask didn't seem to exist anymore. He was more subdued now, colder and distant, but at the same time, far more passionate and still capable of blowing up easily. His words were no longer a cry for attention, but a cry against injustice. When he spoke, his words always seemed to have purpose, even if only Naruto knew the purpose. And there was always an underlying anger present in his voice, except in his softest moments.

"Naruto-kun...?" Hinata started to ask, but stopped when Naruto rested a hand on her shoulder. He already knew what she was about to ask.

"Sasuke needs to lose his arrogance, Hinata," Naruto told her, while Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away, trying to ignore them. "I know we agreed to help him, but first he has to be humiliated so he'll learn to ask for help."

"Oh…o-okay, I guess."

"Ahem. I believe it's your turn now, Hinata," Kakashi interrupted.

"Huh? O-oh! I'm sorry. My n-name is H-Hyūga Hinata. I like...um..." Hinata was about to stop when she felt Naruto gently rub her hand before taking it into his, just as he had two days ago. She still didn't know how, but the gesture soothed her when she thought it should have rendered her unconscious. "I like my family, my f-friends, training and cinnamon rolls. I..." She paused again, looking at Naruto for the support he promised. When he nodded, she continued: "I _hate_ the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu, and the way the B-Branch House is treated by the Main House. My h-hobbies are knitting," she said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen slightly—he hadn't known she liked to knit and yet, he'd imagined her doing just that in some of his dreams, "and p-pressing flowers. And my dream...um...I-I want to be strong like my father, and kind like my mother. I want to help my father change my clan and u-unite the Main House and Branch House." Kakashi noted after she finished her speech that the last time around, it had been Naruto who first vocalized his intent to change the Hyūga. But the last time around, Naruto had failed. This time, however, the Uzumaki would not be alone in his effort.

"You used some strong words there, Hinata. I think Naruto's already rubbing off on you." Kakashi gave Hinata one of his patented eye smiles, causing the timid girl's cheeks to become tinted pink. "Now, that leaves one person," he added, repressing the urge to give Sasuke one of Yamato's trademark glares.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "This is a waste of time, but fine. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things aside from training, and there's a lot I dislike. And I don't have a dream, I have an ambition. But unlike the dobe, _my_ ambition will be realized. I will restore the honor of the Uchiha Clan by killing a certain someone."

_No, you won't,_ Naruto didn't say. _I will __end__ you if you try._ "And just how do you plan to do _that,_ Sasuke?" was what he did say, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The Uchiha did not dignify it with a response.

"Alright then!" Kakashi exclaimed, breaking the uncomfortable silence which lasted for almost fifteen long seconds. "I don't personally approve of your ambition or your reasons for being so secretive, Sasuke, and may be obligated to make sure said ambition is _not_ realized depending on the choices you make in the future, but at least you showed better form than Naruto and Hinata. Anyway, now that we're all somewhat familiar with each other, I need to break the bad news. You see, the three of you have one more test you must pass before you can be recognized as full-fledged ninja of Konoha."

"Another test?" Sasuke asked, scowling but otherwise not showing his anger towards Kakashi for mentioning a willingness to oppose his ambition. "Aren't we already ninja?"

"Not yet. The Academy's tests were just to determine _potential_ candidates to become ninja, Sasuke. The second test will decide whether or not you're truly ready to be sent out into the field. Think of it as a survival test, if you will. But this particular survival test is special. It's a historical fact that this test has a sixty-six percent rate of failure. So out of the eight teams that were formed from your class, it is unlikely that more than two or three teams will pass. If you think you're one of those teams that has what it takes, return to this training ground tomorrow by 0900."

"And what happens if we fail, Kakashi?"

"Before I answer that, I'm going to say this once and once only. You _will_ show me the respect I deserve and address me as sensei, or I will fail you right now—but not before I show you how far ahead of you I am in skill," Kakashi said in a firm tone of voice. The underlying threat was there—_piss me off and I'll kick your ass. Personally._ "Repeat your question, Sasuke, properly this time."

"Tch." Sasuke glanced at the ground and clenched his fists. He was beside himself with anger after Kakashi threatened a second time to end his ambition. "Fine," he grumbled. "What happens if we fail, Kakashi_-sensei?"_

"Much better. Now, should you fail, one of three things could happen. You could be sent back to the Academy for a minimum of four months to take remedial courses. You could be stuck with a non-combat duty, such as working as a secretary for Hokage-sama. Or, and this is the most likely possibility for the three of you given your personal histories, you could be permanently banned from serving in Konoha's military forces and remain civilians forever, or meet an even worse fate." The silence following that statement was even more uncomfortable than when Sasuke declared his ambition to kill _a certain someone._

"Anō...Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked after another fifteen seconds of total silence, shaking a little as she spoke. "C-Could you give us any advice for this test be-before we leave?"

"Eat a light breakfast," Kakashi answered, his voice turning soft. "You don't want to come here on an empty stomach, but you also don't want to throw up because you pushed yourself too hard."

Well, that was new. Naruto was surprised that Kakashi-sensei didn't try to mislead them by telling them not to eat, expecting them to disregard the suggestion, but underneath his suggestion was a secret message, which Naruto received loud and clear. That message told Naruto three things. One, Kakashi was ordered to pass Team Seven. Two, Kakashi wasn't going to be late tomorrow. And three, Kakashi probably wasn't going to hold back as much as he had against the original Team Seven.

"Are there any further questions?" Kakashi asked. The three potential genin shook their heads. "Dismissed." As they parted ways until tomorrow, the Copy Ninja could only hope that this incarnation of Team Seven would pull itself together and actually stay together this time.

If they failed again...the results would be catastrophic.

* * *

Technique List for Chapters 6 and 7:

Doton: Chidōkaku: Earth Release: Moving Earth Core

Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu: Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique

Gentōshin no Jutsu: Magic Lantern Body Technique

Kanchi Suikyū: Sensing Water Sphere

Kansatsu Fūin: Surveillance Seal. Each seal, invisible to both normal eyesight and dōjutsu once applied, records both video and audio data with moderate to high clarity up to fifty meters away, depending on where the seal is applied and how many seals are grouped together. The primary issues with this seal are the extreme size of the receiver array which is needed to collect the data, and the amount of data collected, greatly restricting the number of locations Naruto can place said array.

Mahi Fūin: Paralysis Seal. As the name says, this seal will paralyze any enemy that triggers it. The seal can be programmed to activate by either physical or visual contact. However, the paralysis only lasts for a short amount of time and can be overcome easily by higher-level ninja.

Tōmegane no Jutsu: Telescope Technique

**Okay, so this took a week longer than I said it would. I cite transportation issues as my excuse since the nearest Internet computers are five miles away from my current residence, and apologize.**

**Anyway, this be Part 7 of the Reintroduction Arc. Originally intended to be part of Chapter 6, but since it's so long, I think you can see why I had to split the chapter, yes? Now, for those of you who are concerned that the Naruto/Hinata interactions are taking up too much of the focus, an advance warning: since Chapter 8 will include the bell test it will be impossible to not include at least some additional interactions in that chapter.**

**Ino has been amazing to work with. I was not a fan of her in canon aside from the Fourth Shinobi War arcs (where she was arguably the Most Valuable Kunoichi of the war), but writing her in AUS has proven to be a lot more fun than I first thought. Especially when she's trolling. Troll!Ino should be used more often.**

**A note on the date system being used in this story: I'm going off the Naruto Wikia user Seelentau's page for timeline related issues. At the latest, the graduation exams in Chapter 1 of the manga happened on January 21; this is the only way Shino could register as a ninja before he turned 13. As for why I mentioned in this chapter that January 21 in this timeline was a Saturday, many Japanese schools run from Monday to Saturday. While there are some that do run from Monday to Friday, the posted interpretation of the canon timeline leads me to believe the exams took place on a Saturday. Said timeline is still an S-rank mess, however. I also still need to figure out the lunar cycle.**

**Review responses:**

**\- Elim Garak: While it doesn't actually say so on the Wikia, it is apparent that the Kage Bunshin duplicates the items kept on the person's body when it's used, with limited exceptions. If it didn't, it would be way too easy to tell the original apart from the clones, and you're not supposed to be able to do that in most situations even with a dōjutsu. The scary thing is we never see Naruto truly abuse that particular aspect of Kage Bunshin in canon or filler. Kage Bunshin is overpowered. However, your accusation that Naruto can "do anything" with the technique is false. He is still affected by the accumulated fatigue from his clones, and the cloned soldier pills will exacerbate his mental strain. Also, he is physically twelve again and his body cannot handle as much strain as it could in his teens/twenties. As for the issue of receiving "cloned chakra," Naruto doesn't dare to allow any chakra from a cloned soldier pill to enter his system. The clones would have to expend all the chakra gained from the duplicate pills before they dispel, or Naruto's chakra network will get screwed up or worse. His clones consuming cloned pills comes at a major risk, a risk he does not dare take during combat.**

**\- I will try to get to everyone else's reviews later.**

**Fanfic recommendations:**

**1) (Rated M – In Progress) "Shadows on the Horizon" by Solvdrage. We don't have enough decent Overlord crossovers, and while this one is just starting, it will hopefully rectify the issue somewhat as it progresses. It's dark, but he's a fan of 40k-style GRIMDARK and it certainly shows here. Also, I do believe the third chapter contains his first ever attempt at writing sexual content, so try to be kind. Don't read if you're not a fan of Subordinates with Benefits (yes, that's what they're calling it these days).**

**2) (Rated M – In Progress) "The Valley of the End" by SouthSideStory. A rarity among my recommendations because Naruto and Hinata are not the main pairing (though they are in there). It's Team Seven-centric, so the primary romance is between Sasuke and Sakura, who I believe are the worst couple in canon and do not understand why they are such a popular pairing. But I digress. Anyway, this is an intriguing AU that asks "What if Madara had won at Valley of the End?" and explores one possible outcome for this major divergence. Don't read if you're a fan of the Uchiha Clan, because this fic will make you hate them.**

**3) (Rated M – In Progress) "I Met You at the Sex Shop" by jojo07. A cute little modern AU going off a Tumblr prompt, where Hinata is working at a sex shop and Naruto endears himself to her by making fun of the adult toys when he visits. It's surprisingly good and needs to have more readers.**

**4) (Rated M – Complete) "Breaking Point" by CherryXButterfly. This post-war AU story deserved a lot more favorites and reviews than it got. It's rare to find a good Naruto fic that deals with PTSD, but this is one of those precious gems.**

**Oh, and if anyone here is into the occasional H-doujin, there's an extremely adorkable one from Nanashi 774 titled "Attaka Uzumaki" that was released recently. It is seriously the most adorkable smut you'll ever read.**

**Next chapter: _A Major Examination and a Minor Retribution._ Bell test, along with Kakashi and Hiashi discussing how to avoid/reduce the fallout from an impending major strike against the Sandaime's regime.**


End file.
